Nightshade - Laurell K. Hamilton [83]
Bebit moved farther into the room. He stared at the fallen humans and the chief engineer. “What has been happening here?”
‘He has betrayed us all, that is what has happened,” Captain Diric spoke as he entered the room. There were two more Milgians at his back. Geordi could only assume they were security.
‘The engine has told of your treachery, Veleck. Take him into custody.”
The two new Milgians moved up on either side of Veleck. He did not protest. “I would not have let the ship die, Captain, you must believe that,” Veleck said.
‘The engine says you tried to kill it.”
‘No, I would never do that.”
‘You deny damaging it?” Diric asked.
‘No, but I would have repaired it before time ran out, but they interfered.”
He pointed at Geordi and Crusher. They had managed to stand, grabbing onto the silver lattice work to steady themselves.
Geordi’s head was still ringing. The pain lingered in his body like a bad dream.
‘Three of our crew died, Veleck, dozens are injured. Why, why?” Diric asked.
‘No, the engine should have trusted me. I wouldn’t have let it die. I wouldn’t betray my duty as an engineer, not to that degree.” He didn’t seem to be listening to his captain.
He turned to the younger Milgian engineer. “Bebit, tell the engine I would not have let it die. Please, it must believe me.”
‘The engine has rejected you,” Diric said, “it accuses you of trying to kill it. I do not think it will believe anything you say ever again.”
‘No,” Veleck said, “no, I…”
It was slowly dawning on Geordi that Veleck wasn’t bothered by the fact that three crew members had died, or that he had betrayed his people. He was only bothered by the fact that the engine had kicked him out, and would no longer respond to him.
‘You have betrayed your duty not just to this ship but as an engineer to the engine you helped create. It holds the cells of your body, flesh of your flesh, Veleck, and it rejects you.” Diric stepped very close to the chief engineer. “No other engine will ever let you touch it. The mark of what you have done will be passed from one ship to another. It will be encoded on the programming to every engine from now until forever. You will never again commune as an engineer.”
The heat patterns were growing dimmer on Veleck, almost as if he’d been injured, and was experiencing shock.
‘Redeem yourself as much as you can, Veleck, tell us what was so very important. Why, Veleck, why?”
‘I never thought… I would never have betrayed the engine. If they had not interfered, I would have repaired.”
‘Tell me why, Veleck, as your last duty as my chief engineer. Tell us why.”
He spoke without looking at any of them, as if he was speaking to the empty air. “If I lured the starship far away from their destination, I was promised alien genetic material.” Veleck’s heat patterns were turning an icy blue.
‘You killed crew members so you could profit?” Diric’s voice held outrage.
‘Yes, Captain,” Veleck said. His slow voice, held a distant quality.
‘May I ask him a question?” Geordi asked.
‘He nearly killed you both, you are entitled,” Diric said.
‘Who wanted to lure the Enterprise away, and why?”
‘A leader on the planet Oriana,” Veleck said.
‘Which one?”
‘I do not know. We each went to great pains to keep our identities a secret, so we could not betray each other.”
‘Why was it so important that the ship be here, instead of around the planet?” Crusher asked.
‘I did not ask. I did not want to know.”
Geordi could believe that of Veleck. Had they sailed away and left the away team in danger? He touched his communicator. “La Forge to Commander Riker.”
‘Riker here, go ahead.”
As briefly as possible Geordi explained what little Veleck would tell them.
‘Do you think the captain and the others are in danger?” Riker asked.
‘I don’t know, Commander, but I’m worried.”
‘Me too, beam up to the ship. We’re going to head back to the planet.”
‘The Zar’s engine is still damaged, Commander.”