Kobayashi Maru - Michael A. Martin [119]
At last she began to understand the true enormity of her obsessive insistence on coming out here to Romulan space, as well as the ultimate futility of it. However anyone might attempt to excuse her actionsshe could easily imagine an advocate at her upcoming court-martial citing her emotional vulnerability owing to residual trellium-D damage and the recent death of baby Elizabethshe now understood in a deep and visceral way that she couldnt run from their possibly ruinous larger consequences.
She understood now that she had done a good deal more than merely damage her relationship with her captain and friend, Jonathan Archer, to say nothing of having allowed Malcolm Reed to do the very same thing; she had also grievously damaged whatever might have remained of the intimate bond shed forged with Charles Tuckerall because she had believed it necessary to save his life at all costs.
A bottomless abyss of pure, unalloyed shame opened within her. Perhaps I actually disrupted Trips mission. A mission that was the very reason he risked suffering a second, more permanent death inside the Romulan Empire in the first place.
To her horror, she realized that her illogical, emotional actions might have compromised the safety of both of their homeworlds.
Not to mention that of the entire Coalition of Planets.
THIRTY
Monday, July 21, 2155 Qam-Chee, the First City, QonoS
P HLOX MADE A STUDIOUS ATTEMPT not to count exactly how many armed Klingons had crowded into the medical treatment chamber. Though the warriors had to a man either ignored or failed to understand his polite requests that they stand outside the mobile sterile surgical field he had set up, he did his best not to appear intimidated. In fact, he was far more appalled than intimidated by the casual disregard these people seemed to have for even the most elementary surgical protocol.
Corporal Ryan, one of the two MACO troopers who had accompanied Captain Archer to the planets surface, had called him to one of the Klingon capitals minimalist medical facilities. Because Archers team had taken Enterprise s last remaining shuttlepod, and because time was of the essence, Phlox had had no choice but to beam down to the facility, an experience he still found troubling even under the best of circumstances. And this was hardly the best of circumstances.
Regardless, he was grateful that Corporal Ryans summons hadnt come any later than it did. Archer had suffered significant blood loss during what Phlox had been told was a duel with a Klingon admiral named Krellwhom Phlox could see had gotten the worst of the injuriesand had needed an immediate transfusion. Whether or not the hulking Klingon physician KonJef, in whose infirmary Phlox was now working, could have fixed Archers wounds was immaterial; Phlox doubted that his Klingon counterpart could provide human-compatible hemoglobin to Archer, much less the stored units of whole blood Phlox had brought with him from Enterprise .
Apparently finally taking notice of the crowded conditions in the surgical bay, the giant Klingon doctor barked a few terse orders, and the majority of the assembled warriors obligingly shuffled outside into the flagstone-lined corridor. Phlox heaved a quiet sigh of relief that Archers transfusion tubes were no longer in danger of being yanked out by an accidental encounter with the tip of a batleth some broad-shouldered Klingon soldier was carrying across his back.
One of those who remained behind was a striking Klingon woman. Her teeth were sharp and her breasts were pushed up and half exposed in a revealing outfit made of fur and leather. She stood near the table upon which Krell lay, displaying as much grief as Phlox had ever seen on a Klingon face.
“Thank you for clearing the operating chamber, Phlox said, looking over to the Klingon doctor with what he hoped