String Theory_ Fusion (Book 2) - Kirsten Beyer [39]
Yes, Neelix liked Dalby.
At the same time, he was also considering the arrangement of supplies stored in cargo bay three. Most of the expansive space had been reserved for some of the crew’s personal possessions and nonperishable food. The majority of those contents could be divided between bays one and two, leaving bay three as a potential space for raw matter storage they were sure to find aboard the array.
Come to think of it, there were a number of emergency ration packs in bay three which should probably be brought to the mess hall right now. He was running a little low, and with much of the crew assigned to the upcoming away mission, it was probably a good idea to have plenty on hand. If he diverted his steps to the nearest turbolift, it would take only a few moments…
“Aaaahhhhhhh!”
The shrill, piercing scream that echoed through the hall was temporarily disorienting. It sounded like it was coming from the turbolift, behind him. The second scream caused the blood to drain instantaneously from his extremities, but it also made it easier for him to determine where it was coming from.
Naomi!
Neelix ran for his life. He found strength and speed he hadn’t known since he was a young boy, chasing his sister, Alixia, through the forest that ran behind their home.
His worst fears were confirmed when he turned the final corner that led to the mess hall entrance and saw Naomi crumpled on the floor.
Before he had even reached her, he tapped his combadge.
“Neelix to sickbay. Medical emergency.”
Naomi was curled on her right side. She didn’t appear to be breathing and her face and hands had a faint purplish blue tinge. As Neelix gently touched her left hand, and felt, as he had expected to, its horrifying chill, he called out again over the comm.
“This is Neelix. Something has happened to Naomi. Request emergency site-to-site transport. Get us to sickbay… NOW!”
Seconds later, Neelix and Naomi materialized in sickbay. The Doctor immediately lifted the child from the floor and placed her on a biobed.
Neelix was at the Doctor’s side instantly. He was shaking with fear, but the Doctor moved quickly and efficiently around him to render the necessary aid. He didn’t take time to calm the terrified Talaxian, or to force him out of the way.
“She isn’t breathing. Her airway is probably obstructed,” the Doctor diagnosed immediately. “Naomi is an otherwise healthy child. Since she was found near the mess hall, the most likely scenario is that she ate something and began to choke.”
But as he passed his medical tricorder over her upper torso and neck, Neelix noted the flat series of beeps emanating from the device, which indicated a negative result.
His alarm was heightened when the Doctor tossed the tricorder aside, a decidedly disgruntled scowl on his face, raised the biobed’s medical arch over Naomi’s upper body, and initiated an immediate infusion of oxygen into her system.
“What… what… what’s wrong with her?” Neelix stammered.
“As I said before,” the Doctor replied evenly, “she isn’t breathing.”
“Why not?”
The Doctor turned his attention to the scans of the child’s central nervous system as he said, “I don’t know.”
“Is something wrong with her lungs?” Neelix asked, “Because she can have my lung if she needs it.”
“No, she can’t, Mr. Neelix. You only have one lung left and that is a transplanted Ocampan lung. Her body would reject such a transplant, even if my ethical subroutines did not preclude the possibility of taking your life to save hers.”
“But the Vidiians did it!” Neelix shouted.
“Do you see any Vidiians in sickbay at the moment?” the Doctor asked sarcastically. “Though I am well versed in the procedure you are describing, I do not possess the resources they had at their disposal to perform the transplant.”
“But… there has to be something…” Neelix offered, at a loss. The prospect of his own death was not nearly as terrifying as the idea of standing by, helpless, watching Naomi die.
“If there is, I will find it, Mr. Neelix.”
“Can I help?”
“Yes,