String Theory_ Fusion (Book 2) - Kirsten Beyer [141]
A final shock wave shot out, nudging the ship forward in its wake, but compared to the last few minutes, the impact was relatively mild.
Chakotay found voice to say, “Good work, B’Elanna.”
“Thank you, sir,” she replied.
“Set a course for…” He paused as if honestly unsure where they were supposed to go next. “Set a course for the nearest border of the Monorhan system. We’ll stop there for repairs and begin a thorough search for the Homeward Bound,” he finally said.
“Aye, sir,” B’Elanna replied, her heart sinking.
They were headed for the exact coordinates where Tom and Harry should have reentered Monorhan space. B’Elanna didn’t know what they would find there. But she was certain it wouldn’t be the lost shuttle. There was only so much she was willing or able to confront right now. As much as she knew they needed to complete the search, some small part of her knew it was going to be fruitless.
And once that happened…
For the moment, she allowed herself to disconnect from these painful and unspeakable thoughts and with lead-tipped fingers entered the course as ordered.
Captain Janeway had materialized on the transporter pad lying unconscious on her side. As protocol demanded, Clayton had immediately initiated an emergency site-to-site transport to get the captain to sickbay without wasting a second. Of course, in the brief moments between her successful retrieval of the captain and her input to activate the site-to-site transport, the entire transporter system had automatically locked down to prevent catastrophic cascade failure as emergency systems were rerouted to accommodate for the requirements of the primary shield, structural integrity, and inertial dampening systems.
Clayton hadn’t wasted a moment in rushing to the captain’s side to check her for injuries that would make moving her unwise, and when she found no obvious cause for concern, she lifted the captain unceremoniously over her shoulder and carried her to sickbay.
In the chaotic minutes that ensued, Clayton had struggled to keep her balance, moving as quickly as possible through the dimly lit corridors that separated the transporter room from the medical bay. By the time she reached the doors, her uniform was sticky with sweat and the muscles of her neck and right shoulder were screaming in protest, but she entered sickbay both proud and relieved that she had accomplished her task.
“Computer,” she called, gently lowering the captain on the nearest biobed, “activate Emergency Medical Hologram.”
At the same time, Crewman Dalby entered, supporting Ensign Davidson, who was holding his right arm, streaked with a nasty-looking plasma burn.
“Unable to comply,” the computer informed them.
“Where’s the Doctor?” Dalby asked.
“I don’t know,” Clayton replied, hurrying to the holographic control panel and taking note of the Doctor’s mobile emitter sitting in its case on his desk.
“Computer, was the Doctor’s program damaged?” she asked.
“Negative,” the computer replied.
Clayton wasn’t the holographic wizard that Lieutenant Torres was, but her first casual glance at the Doctor’s initiation file shed at least a little light on the computer’s cryptic response to her inquiry.
“What is it, Grace?” Dalby asked, crossing to join her.
“The Doctor’s program…” she stammered in disbelief. “It’s gone.”
Acting Captain’s log
Stardate 52019.1.
It’s been twelve hours since we left the array. We’ve set a course for the border of Monorhan space where we will begin our search for Ensign Kim and Lieutenant Paris and are en route at full impulse. Repairs are already under way. Primary systems are functioning at eighty percent and shields have been fully restored.
The subspace dissonance wave that impacted the ship just before we escaped the array caused a catastrophic failure in the ship’s holoemitters. All holographic programs running at the time, including the Doctor’s, were damaged. I’ve ordered Lieutenant Torres to reconstruct what she can of the Doctor’s program. Apparently even the backup modules we created were lost, and she believes