Kobayashi Maru - Michael A. Martin [54]
TPol heard a roar behind her, a cacophony louder than anything shed ever heard before. Despite its unnatural volume, she recognized it instantly, just a split second before the blast of wind struck her. The sound and fury of massive decompression spurred her on, and she barely glanced back to see the white corridor breaking apart behind her, the vacuum of space seeming to hurtle toward her in a headlong, predatory rush.
“Stop! she shouted, throwing caution to the grasping winds around her as she forced herself nearer to the two figures, perhaps relying on the power of her will alone. The aggressor turned and roared at her, its Vulcan features distorted and angry. With flattened ears and sharpened teeth, it resembled one of the Frislen mutants that she had battled some two decades ago.
With the corridor tearing asunder behind her, TPol used the last of her declining strength to launch herself at the monster, tackling it at its midsection. The thing writhed and screamed, and through the flying tatters of its robe TPol finally caught a glimpse of what the monster had been beating.
Or rather whom . Despite the extensive surgery he had undergone to help him blend into Romulan society, and the bruises and contusions that swelled his face, she knew it was Trip. His eyes looked unfocused, but he seemed to see her nevertheless.
“TPol, he said weakly. The escalating roar of cold, empty space swallowed up anything else he might have said.
The corridor behind him crumbled a heartbeat later, and Trip went tumbling into the void, his voice gone, though she was certain he still carried her name on his blood-flecked lips.
Marshaling all her remaining strength, TPol continued to grapple with the monster, determined to end its life before it managed to do the same to her.
“TPol! The voice was closer now, louder, despite the intensifying rush of white noise. “Commander TPol!
Abruptly, the white corridor and the void beyond it vanished, displaced by the bridge of Enterprise and its startled beta-watch crew. Lieutenant Mack McCall was in front of her, grasping her shoulders, concern etched deeply on his features. “Commander TPol, can you hear me?
TPol turned her head, blinking away the vision that had just filled her mind, willing her racing heart to slow down.
“Yes, Lieutenant, she said slowly, focusing first on the distraction of the mans salt-and-pepper goatee before looking directly into his brown eyes. “IIm not sure what just happened.
“Neither are we, McCall said, his demeanor softening a bit. “You exited the head, stopped in the middle of the deck, and yelled, Stop! You seemed to be in some kind oftrance. Very gently, he grasped her wrists and pulled her hands up. “And you did this to yourself.
TPol looked down at her hands, both of which were balled into fists, her fingers clenched so tightly that her short-cropped nails had pierced the flesh of both palms. Emerald-hued blood welled out onto her wrists and dripped from between her knuckles.
“Perhaps I should pay a visit to Doctor Phlox, TPol said.
“Thats what I was going to suggest, McCall said, sighing in apparent relief that he wasnt going to have to try to force the issue on a superior officerone who might be going insane right before his eyes, for all he knew. “Why dont I have Ensign Ko accompany you to sickbay?
TPol also didnt miss the trepidatious look on Kos face as he accompanied her into the bridge turbolift, where he stood as far away from her as possible. She wasnt offended by his quite logical impulse toward caution, nor by the unusual alacrity with which he exited sickbay once he had finished conducting her inside.
A moment after she finished offering an awkward greeting to Phlox, the sickbay doors slid open again. TPol turned in time to see Captain Archer enter, looking every bit