Miracle Workers (SCE Books 5-8) - Keith R. A. DeCandido_. [et al.] [35]
“Colonel Kira,” he said. “This is Captain Gold. Is everything all right?”
“Hello, Captain. Yes, everything’s fine. Don’t worry, this is a simple diversion call.”
“So the last dispatch we got was accurate? Those Jem’Hadar who attacked the station were renegades?” For some time, the whole quadrant was on yellow alert and many were convinced that the Dominion War, over for less than four months, was going to start right back up again. Gold was worried that this call was going to be bad news—unexpected calls from high-ranking officers almost always were.
“Yes, the dispatch was accurate. Unfortunately, part of the process of stopping them involved ejecting our fusion core.”
“Oy.”
Kira looked almost amused. “‘Oy’ pretty much sums it up, Captain. We still need your help putting the station back together, just not here at the station. You’re to rendezvous with one of our runabouts, the Rio Grande, in the Trivas system. We’re forwarding the exact coordinates to you now. You’ll meet up with Lieutenant Nog, our chief operations officer.”
Gold recalled that the Trivas system was in unclaimed space near the Cardassian border. “And this is going to help the station?”
“Let’s hope so. We need to get this place operational before we run out of emergency power. The lieutenant will have all the details.”
“Whatever you say, Colonel. We’re happy to be of service however you need us.”
At that, Kira actually smiled, though it didn’t extend to her entire face. This is a woman under a lot of pressure, Gold thought, being all too familiar with that look from his own years in the center seat.
“Actually, Captain, the S.C.E. has already been a great help to us. And, honestly, if you could accompany the Rio Grande back to DS9, we could probably use some more of that service.”
“That should be do-able, Colonel. I’ve heard a lot of good things about your station—in fact, one of my engineers used to serve there. It’ll be a privilege to visit—and to help out.”
“The privilege will be all ours, Captain. And I wouldn’t worry about the mission, either. Nog’s a pro. I’m sure it’ll all go completely smoothly.”
CHAPTER
3
Fabian Stevens stared at the sleeping form of Domenica Corsi in the bed with him, wondering how, exactly, this had happened. He had gone into the mess hall when he had come off shift the night before, figuring to do a little reading over a synthale before going to bed. To his surprise, Lt. Commander Corsi had been there. It was the first time Stevens could ever remember seeing the da Vinci’s chief of security in the mess hall. She generally preferred to eat in her quarters. Even more surprising was her request for him to join her. He’d conversed with her while off duty about as often as he’d seen her in the mess hall, and yet here she was inviting him over.
Intrigued by the novelty as much as anything, he had agreed.
“Senior staff and S.C.E. team, report to the observation lounge immediately.”
It was Lieutenant McAllan’s voice, and the beep that had preceded it had an immediate effect. In repose, Corsi’s features were unusually soft—like a porcelain doll sitting under lights in a glass case. The effect was magnified by her blond hair, normally tied severely back, cascading loosely about the pillow.
As soon as the beep sounded, though, the hard edges returned, and the porcelain became duranium as she awakened.
“Let’s go,” she said, getting up from the bed without hesitating. She went from dead asleep to wide awake in less than a second, an ability that Fabian Stevens envied, to say the least.
The previous night, Corsi had moved toward the bed with a lithe elegance and softness that Stevens would not have previously credited her with. Now, though, soft was the last word he’d use to describe how she moved away from it.
Efficient, though, that he’d use. Though he’d been awake for almost half an hour, it took Stevens several seconds to drag himself out of bed, grab the various parts of his