String Theory_ Cohesion (Book 1) - Jeffrey Lang [45]
Scanning the board in front of her, B’Elanna noted that the computer was rerouting power away from nonessential systems and trying to restart for her. Risking queasiness, she glanced out the window again and saw that they must have reached the peak of their arc and were beginning to fall again. “Any idea how high up we are?” she asked.
“Not far enough up that gravity isn’t an issue, Lieutenant.”
Right, B’Elanna thought, then added, Smartass. More lights on the panel were green, but the autostart wasn’t working. The batteries were shot. Reroute power from life-support, she thought. Those systems are on a separate power source. Of course, that would mean losing inertial control. “Brace yourself.”
Not waiting for Seven to respond, B’Elanna pressed herself back as firmly as she could into her chair, mashing her head against the support, then touched the switch that would shunt power from life-support to the thrusters. Her last coherent thought was I hope we’re not pointed at the ground.
Ready to scream, ready to bellow to the universe how unfair it was that she should die here and now, B’Elanna Torres saw her world turn red, then black.
Then there was white. The white was pain felt first behind the eyes, as if someone were touching the backs of the sockets with a white-hot welding torch. Opening her mouth so wide she heard her jaw crack, B’Elanna tried to scream, but couldn’t get air into her lungs. Another white-hot coal touched her neck, and B’Elanna tried to swat it away, but her arms were either too heavy or tied to the chair’s armrests. Seven! She’s pierced me with those damn tubules! She’s turning me into a Borg!
“Lieutenant! Stop struggling!” Seven shouted. “We have little enough supplies as it is!” The white-hot coal hissed as it touched her again, B’Elanna’s skin charring and curling away from the brand.
The pain receded. Everything felt lighter and B’Elanna’s arms floated up into the air over her head. White light turned pinkish and shapes came into focus. There was a blob in front of her and it was saying, “Can you hear me, Lieutenant?”
“I’m fine,” B’Elanna said, though her mouth felt numb and her tongue was sandpapery. “Do we have any water?”
The Seven-shaped blob disappeared, and B’Elanna heard rustling sounds. Illogically, B’Elanna found herself thinking of the kitchen cabinets in the house when she was a girl and her dad shifting objects inside while looking for something to make for supper. Neither he nor B’Elanna were particularly fussy eaters, so “cooking” was often a matter of juxtaposing items until they found two roughly compatible foods. Tomato sauce and beans? B’Elanna thought. Sure! Nothing wrong there! Replicated chicken and cucumbers? Both good so they’re good together!
“What happened?” B’Elanna groaned.
“You were unconscious when we landed,” Seven said. “The shuttle’s medical tricorder recommended I treat you for shock. We were without inertial dampeners for almost two minutes while the computer struggled to regain control of the shuttle.”
“No,” B’Elanna said. “Before that. What happened? What knocked us out of the sky?”
“I have not been able to access the sensor logs yet, but I believe we were struck by a shock wave.”
“Well, obviously,” B’Elanna said testily. “But a shock wave from what? A weapon? An industrial accident? Some other kind of explosion? Was it directed at us or were we simply caught in the blast?”
B’Elanna heard Seven sigh. “I repeat, Lieutenant, I have not had time to check the sensor logs. The discharge, whatever it was, disrupted our electrical systems, which suggests some kind of electromagnetic pulse.”
Considering the options, B’Elanna asked, “Atomics? Could the Monorhans be using nuclear explosives? That would be insane.”
“The Monorhans strike me as a desperate people. Desperate people do foolish things.”
Cupping her forehead, B’Elanna collected