Possession - J.M. Dillard [51]
She put on a burst of speed and rounded a corner, nearly plowing into two crew members. She suppressed the thought of how she must have appeared to them: totally disheveled, hysterical, racing around in her ophthalmic visor.
“Call security!” she yelled, as she pulled away and continued to flee from her attacker. “Call Worf!”
Distantly, she heard one of the crew members say dazedly, “You bet!” before Kyla was out of sight.
“Can’t we invite her to dinner, Father?” Alexander asked, as he changed out of his school clothes.
Worf was beginning to wonder if his son had only been feigning sleep last night when Kyla Dannelke had visited them. He had started asking Worf about this dinner invitation as soon as he had gotten up this morning.
“She helped me so much with my floating eyeball,” Alexander explained patiently. “It would be a nice way to repay her, wouldn’t it? You’re always telling me that when someone offers you help, that’s a debt that must be repaid.”
“Yes, that is true,” Worf allowed. “But you must understand, Alexander. Dr. Dannelke did not come on board to socialize; she came here to do important work with her colleagues. She may already have her evening planned.”
“But what if she doesn’t?” Alexander insisted. “We can at least ask. I know she might say no. Please, Father? Can’t we ask her?”
Worf sighed, trying to tell himself he did not already know the outcome of this discussion. “Very well. You may invite her to dinner here. Let her know you had my permission. And do not pout if she turns you down!”
“Sure, Father!” Alexander agreed, all smiles. “Maybe she can show me how to make my eyeball go inside out like hers!”
Worf broke his stern countenance to smile back at his boy. “You really like her, do you not?”
Alexander nodded, then looked at his father slyly. “I think Kyla really likes you, Father.”
Worf’s frown reappeared. The boy was entirely too precocious! “That is Dr. Dannelke, not Kyla. You must show respect for such a learned scientist!”
“She said I could call her that! Honest, Father. I know how to act!”
Yes, Worf had to admit. Alexander behaved much better with others than he often did with his father. And, no doubt, due to his mother’s early death, he was naturally attracted to women. “Actually, son, I think Dr. Dannelke likes you.”
“That’s great. That means she likes both of us!”
Worf nodded, knowing that was the truth. And how could you not be attracted to a woman who was intelligent, strong, forthright, and who also admired your son? He began to wonder if the scientist knew more about Klingon culture than she let on.
“I will be off duty in two hours,” Worf told his boy. “If she agrees to come, we will eat then. If she accepts, ask her the name of her favorite meal.”
“You’re not going to make her eat Klingon food?” Alexander asked, and Worf grumbled at the playful sarcasm in his voice.
“This is a dinner invitation,” he reminded his son, “not an endurance test. It is time for me to return to the bridge. Send a message to me through the computer when—”
His communicator chirped at him, and he nodded at his son, leaving the boy’s room so that he might answer the page more privately.
Once in the central living quarters, he touched the badge, and said, “Worf, here.”
“Lieutenant Worf,” came a breathy voice, “This is Ensign Johannsen. We’ve got a security emergency on Deck Five. One of the visiting scientists is racing around the ship as if she’s being pursued. But—we never saw anyone after her.”
“Do we need a medical team?” Worf asked, as he left the quarters and started jogging toward the turbolift.
“I don’t think so, sir,” the officer reported. “We’ve been tracking her through the computer. She’s moving pretty fast.”
“Which scientist is it?” he asked, as he entered the lift. If he could remember who it was he might be able to determine if they were working with chemicals