Lost Era 06_ Catalyst of Sorrows - Margaret Wander Bonanno [135]
“Not entirely, Dr. Crusher,” Selar said as Zetha wondered where to put herself. “We still have to ascertain why the same gene sequence that renders some individuals immune to Catalyst also mutates from a deadly form to a killed form suitable for vaccine, given enough time.”
“Not something its creators anticipated, I’m sure!” McCoy growled, then reconsidered. “Or maybe they did. Be convenient for some Romulan bioterrorist to have the cure handy once the disease had killed enough people to create panic. I knew Thamnos hadn’t done this on his own!”
“It’s convenient for us, too,” was Uhura’s opinion. “With the help of those datachips, we can track down any additional ‘seeds’ in Federation territory. I’m sure at least some of them would be happy to serve as in situ providers of vaccine.”
Tuvok had in fact already begun tracking. “An interesting addendum to the mystery on Tenjin,” he reported. “Two seeds were in fact deployed to two separate environmental domes. Both eventually met up in a third dome and were killed in a transport accident before they could spread the disease further.”
“And Sliwon-?” Uhura wanted to know.
“It seems our snake-oil salesman was the vector there. A Rigelian by birth, who had traveled extensively in Romulan territory, and claims he has no idea how he became infected.”
“Oh, I’ll just bet!” Uhura said, making a note to have the man extracted from Sliwon. She was going to enjoy interrogating him.
With her away team safe and Okinawa on its way home, the source of the pestilence identified and a cure being implemented, Uhura found herself breathing normally for the first time in days. Had they actually solved this? There were a thousand loose ends to tie up, not least of which was somehow getting word back to Cretak so that she could take steps toward tracking down the seeds inside the Empire and stop the spread of the disease before both governments officially got involved.
And then what? What was she going to tell the C-in-C and what would he do with the information he gave her? Whoever had initiated this on the Romulan side was still at large and could easily do something like this again. But was it worth hurling accusations back and forth and perhaps making the already uneasy detente with the Romulans that much more uneasy? Uhura had no answers.
That’s why you’re a spy and not a diplomat! she told herself, halfway tempted to contact Curzon and ask him what he thought she should do. Should she risk that while Okinawa was still in transit? Perhaps best to wait until her team had returned home. As if she needed an excuse to see Curzon again.
“It’s ironic,” Zetha told Tuvok.
“I beg your pardon?”
Finally tired of roaming the corridors of the starship, marveling at everything, the young Romulan had come to rest in Okinawa’s crew lounge, where a helpful ensign who had a weakness for girls with green eyes had initiated her into the marvels of something called a hot fudge sundae. She was scooping the last of the sticky confection out of the bottom of the dish and licking her fingers while she spoke.
“This whole situation,” she explained. “My being programmed to be some sort of killing machine, and ending up providing the cure instead. Aemetha would call that irony. Would have called that irony.” The green eyes suddenly welled with tears. “I don’t even know if Aemetha is still alive….”
She let the spoon drop into the bowl, suddenly nauseated by what she had been eating. Tuvok watched and took note.
“You did this, all of this, in hope of protecting Aemetha?” he began.
“And the little ones. So many little ones. She helped everyone who came to her. I hoped I could live long enough to be like her….”
“You have already helped more people than you know,” Tuvok suggested, alluding to the vaccine that Selar was even now replicating