String Theory_ Cohesion (Book 1) - Jeffrey Lang [19]
The Monorhan reached out and tentatively felt for the edge of the field. Neelix heard a faint angry buzz, which grew louder and more insistent as the Monorhan pushed forward. Finally the field reached its tolerance and the Monorhan’s hand was expelled. Wiggling his fingers, the visitor asked, “Could I push through if I tried?”
“I don’t think so,” Neelix said. “Though I confess I’ve never tried. Would you want to?”
The Monorhan did not answer, lost in thought. “But the vessels—ours and yours—can go through.”
“That’s controlled by the computers,” Neelix explained. “I won’t pretend to understand it. Somehow it knows the difference between a person and a ship. Ships go through; people don’t.”
“Remarkable,” the alien sighed, and Neelix thought he detected a trace of sadness in his voice.
“Voyager is home to many remarkable things,” Neelix said, “and remarkable people.”
“The way you say that,” the Monorhan said, “you don’t sound like you feel you are one of them.”
Surprised by the words, Neelix briefly considered the idea, then admitted, “Sometimes I feel like I am and other times, not so much. I was not part of her original crew. They rescued me…and a companion…several years ago and allowed me to join them on their journey.”
“So you’ve traveled far from your home?”
“Quite far.”
Looking out into the void beyond the forcefield, the Monorhan asked, “Do you think you will ever return?”
Neelix shook his head and felt a deep sadness creep into his voice. “I can’t. My home was destroyed many years ago.” Then, remembering his responsibilities, he said, “But Voyager is my home now. Someday, perhaps somewhere else, but for now, I try to always keep in mind that there are much worse places to be.”
“Yes,” the Monorhan said in a matter-of-fact tone. “You could be on my world.”
“Ah,” Neelix said, and though he was unsure where the conversation was going, he wanted his guest to feel like he should speak his mind. “So you prefer to be out here in space.”
“This is my first trip into space. So far, I have found it…terrifying.”
“Oh. Well…” He knew he should try to find something else to say but was baffled by the young man’s candor. Noting that they were alone in the shuttlebay but for the flight crew who were examining the Monorhan’s craft, Neelix said, “The others will be wondering what happened to us, and we need to stop in sickbay to make sure there’s nothing in our environment that’s harmful to you.” Extending his hand, he said, “My name is Neelix, by the way. And you are?”
“Diro,” the young alien said, grasping his hand. “And I wouldn’t worry about there being anything harmful in your environment.” Pointing at the bandage on his neck, Diro said, “I doubt it could be anything worse than what we dealt with on Monorha.”
Guiding Diro toward the exit, Neelix asked, “I noticed several of your friends were wearing bandages. Then these are not injuries?”
“No. A blood disease many of us have. Not fatal, but we’re easily injured and heal slowly.”
“Our doctor may be able to help you,” Neelix said, hoping he wasn’t promising too much.
“We would be grateful,” Diro said touching his throat, “though I doubt he could aid everyone who suffers with this.”
“Possibly not,” Neelix agreed, as the shuttlebay doors shut behind them, “though I’m sure he’d try if asked. He’s that sort of fellow.”
Chapter 4
Disaster minus 122 minutes
Tom Paris sulked.
No grilled cheese sandwich.
He hated being sick or, at least, a patient. For a nurse, sickbay was a fairly interesting place in which to hang out; for a patient, it was deadly dull, especially now that the Doc’s pain medication was wearing off.
Unfortunately, the medication hadn’t worn off when B’Elanna had come by for a visit, and Tom knew his spacey demeanor had as much to do with her leaving so quickly as her continuing angst about the engines. He seemed to recall her saying something about Chakotay ordering her to relax, but Tom wasn’t sure that meant she had to relax with him.
“L’amour est enfant de Bohême,” howled the Doctor from his office. With no patients other than Tom to