Star Trek_ A Choice of Catastrophes - Michael Schuster [0]
Impatient, he counted to ten. Now this should have an immediate effect. McCoy glanced up at the monitor.
Nothing.
“If there’s no physical cause,” he said, increasingly worried, “then what’s slowing his brain down?”
“Infection?” suggested Brent. “Virus?”
“Can’t be,” McCoy said, “he hasn’t been off the ship. The only recent possibility of infection is C-15’s anatid flu, but biofilters would stop that from getting aboard.”
“Blood analysis?” Chapel asked, grabbing an empty hypospray.
McCoy nodded. “Worth a try—but we need to treat him immediately. This man is dying.” Desperate to try anything, he adjusted his hypospray. “Ten cc’s should do the trick.”
Still no reaction. He didn’t understand—what could be causing this? By all appearances, there was nothing wrong with the man.
You have no idea what to do, do you?
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the authors’ imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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First Pocket Books paperback edition September 2011
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Text design by Esther Paradelo Cover design by Alan Dingman
Manufactured in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
ISBN 978-1-4516-0716-1
ISBN 978-1-4516-0723-9 (ebook)
To the people who believe in me, to the people who have given me a chance to prove myself, and to the people who are there for me when I need them.
—M.S.
To Bradley Knipper, Patrick Maloney, Christopher Tracy, David Poon, James Sand, and Adam Johnson. You were the best crew a captain ever had. Tally ho, you blokes—it’s tea time!
—S.M.
Contents
Mission Roster
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
MISSION ROSTER
U.S.S. Enterprise, NCC-1701
Bridge Staff
Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu, acting captain
Lieutenant Nyota Uhura, chief communications officer
Lieutenant John Farrell, navigator
Lieutenant Manjula Rahda, helm officer
Lieutenant Esteban Rodriguez, science officer
Ensign Ali Harper, engineer (subsystems monitor)
Petty Officer (second class) Tina Lawton, duty yeoman
Medical Staff
Doctor Leonard McCoy, chief medical officer
Ensign Christine Chapel, head nurse
Ensign Zainab Odhiambo, nurse
Ensign Cheryl Thomas, nurse
Lieutenant Clifford Brent, medical technician
Ensign Magaly Messier, medical technician
Chief Petty Officer Robert Abrams, medical technician
Miscellaneous Staff
Lieutenant Vincent DeSalle, assistant chief engineer
Lieutenant David Galloway, security
Lieutenant Ryan Leslie, security
Lieutenant (junior grade) Hayden Singh, engineer (auxiliary control)
Ensign Homi Padmanabhan, spatial physicist
Shuttlecraft Columbus, NCC-1701/2
Captain James T. Kirk, commanding officer
Lieutenant Commander Salvatore Giotto, chief of security
Lieutenant (junior grade)