Nightshade - Laurell K. Hamilton [72]
‘You do not have to touch the panels, only pass your hand above them. Will that harm you?”
‘I hope not,” Geordi said. “What do I do?”
‘Put your hand over this middle panel, here,” Bebit said. He splayed his thick fingers wide and the lights flickered, responding. “Do you see?”
Geordi didn’t really understand what the lights meant, but he could duplicate the physical movement and hoped that was enough. “Does it have to be the hand that was tasted?”
‘That is not necessary.”
Good, thought Geordi, lifting his good hand toward the softly glowing panel.
‘Do not touch it!” The low scream made Geordi drop his hand to his side and turn around. Veleck stood in the doorway walking forward as quickly as his bulk would allow. “Do not touch it!”
‘Chief Engineer,” Bebit began.
‘Silence! You have almost destroyed this ship.”
‘But Chief Engineer…”
‘Get out!”
Bebit didn’t argue further. He just turned and lumbered off. His body very cool, no hot spots to glow against Geordi’s VISOR. To Geordi, the smaller alien seemed dejected.
‘What’s wrong, Veleck?” Geordi asked.
‘Your cell structure is alien to this ship. If you mingle your cells with ours, it could force the implosion to happen immediately.”
Geordi glanced at Crusher, she shrugged. “The ship has already tasted me. It didn’t blow up.”
‘That idiot, Bebit, how could he risk us all like that?” There was real anger and panic in Veleck’s voice.
‘If the danger was my alien cell structure, that’s passed.”
‘But you were about to speak with the engines.” As Veleck walked toward them Geordi saw that the heat patterns on his body were like a kaleidoscope. It was almost dizzying and Geordi had to turn away. He could only assume that this was a pattern of agitation for the Milgians.
‘I have to speak with the engines to fix them,” Geordi said.
‘You do not understand our engines. They are greatly stressed. Trying to speak with something as alien as you are could force them to explode early. Do you understand?” Veleck had moved his considerable bulk between the two humans and the control panels. They were forced to stand back whether or not they wished to.
‘In a few hours the ship will destroy itself anyway.”
‘But not yet,” Veleck said.
‘All right, let’s evacuate everyone to the Enterprise, and I’ll try to talk to the engines.”
‘You would risk your own life to save our ship?”
Geordi didn’t know quite what to say to that. It sounded terribly heroic and he didn’t feel terribly heroic. “I have to do everything I can to save your ship and people, so yes, I’m willing to take the risk.”
Veleck stared at Geordi for a moment. The heat patterns had cooled, but Geordi would have given a lot to be able to see the engineer’s facial expression. Though, as with most new alien races, the expression might not have meant very much.
‘I cannot let you, an alien, risk yourself for my ship. I am chief engineer, I will die with my engines.”
‘Then stay with me. I’ll need all the help I can get,” Geordi said.
‘We’ll need to get the Enterprise to a safe distance before you try,” Crusher said.
‘Yeah. Try to convince as many of the Milgians as you can to evacuate.”
Crusher nodded. “I’ll try, but this ridiculous determination to go down with their ship… I don’t know how to get around it.”
‘It is not ridiculous,” Veleck said. “It is our way.”
‘Any custom that wastes lives unnecessarily is repugnant to me, Chief Engineer Veleck. I’m a doctor; I save lives. And that is more important to me than any custom.”
‘I will not leave my ship when it is in danger,” he said.
‘I’ll go up and try to convince some of the other officers to leave,” Crusher said. “I’ll be back when I’ve gotten as many Milgians to safety as I can.”
‘Wait a minute, Doc. You’re going over, too.”
‘If the engines don’t explode and you can speak with them, you’ll still need me. These engines are alive, Geordi. You need an engineer and a doctor.”
Geordi opened his mouth to argue, but she had that stubborn set to her mouth, a hard glint in her green eyes. In her own way Crusher