Kobayashi Maru - Michael A. Martin [70]
“Wheres Malcolm? Archer asked, gesturing toward the tactical station that the enthusiastic Englishman usually manned during the alpha-watch hours.
“He called in sick earlier, D.O. said, her smile slipping into a frown. “Said he must have had a bad reaction to some of Chefs food. Unless we wanted to have him hitting the head every five minutes, it didnt make sense to have him on duty.
Archer grinned and lowered his voice. “Malcolm and his sensitive stomachits a wonder hes ever able to fly at all sometimes. I assume Phlox will have some kind of antidiarrheal to settle him down. He squinted for a moment, scrolling through a personnel roster in his mind. “Who do we have to replace him? Yoc? Beaton?
“If you dont mind, sir, Ill take Reeds post myself, ONeill said. “I didnt really have any plans for my off-duty time today, and Im not terribly tired.
Archer clapped a hand on the lieutenants shoulder and stood. “Suit yourself, D.O. Have some food ordered up from the mess though; cant have your stomach rumbling so loudly it drowns out the com system. But before you take over that post, I have a call to make from my ready room. You have the bridge again until Im done with that.
Turning toward the communication station, Archer saw that Hoshi Sato was frowning as she studied her com-system displays. “Whats wrong, Hoshi? he asked, moving toward her.
“I know you said it was all right for a certain crew member to make private subspace transmissions off the main system, Sato said, keeping her voice low even as she glanced sideways to make sure that none of the other bridge crew were standing near enough to overhear her. “But I think we should put them in the official logs.
Archer frowned. “Do any of these transmissions pose a problem?
“Im not sure, Hoshi said, shrugging. “But another, significantly longer transmission went out last night.
“And?
“ Enterprise s clocks happen to be roughly synchronized with the region on the planet to which the transmission was sent, Sato said, carefully leaving out the name of the planet they both knew they were discussing: Vulcan. “The transmission went out at about oh-three-thirty hours. That seems like an odd time to be dealing with personal business back home.
Archer waved his hand to one side. “Ive given up on what seems odd when it comes to those particular people, Hoshi. Thanks for alerting me, but Im not overly concerned about it.
“Yes, sir, Sato said, though her expression showed that she wasnt entirely placated.
“Besides, we have bigger fish to fry right now, Archer said. “I need you to raise Admiral Krell of the Klingon Defense Force. Pipe it through to my ready room after you set up the connection.
Minutes later, Archer found himself pacing in his small ready room office, wishing that any of his closest companions aboard the ship were present to consult with him regarding the trials that lay ahead: TPol, Trip, Malcolmeven Porthos was good for counsel from time to time. It wasnt that he couldnt make decisions on his own, but hed always found it best to bounce ideas off his trusted friends, even if, ultimately, he went with his own gut feeling more often than not. But at the moment his most trusted friends were either “dead, hallucinating, running to the bathroom, or sleeping on the pillow at the foot of his bed.
Two chimes sounded from the com unit mounted on the wall. “I have Admiral Krell, Satos voice announced from the speaker.
Archer crossed back behind his desk, tilting the desktop viewscreen up even as he remained standing. The visual pickup would be looking up at him, giving him a subtle if slight psychological advantage. “On-screen, Archer said.
Less than a year had passed since Archer had first tangled with Krell, when the hostile fleet admiral had been intent on destroying the Klingon Empires own QuVat colony, including its inhabitants: Klingons who had been infected with genetically mutated augment