The Farther Shore - Christie Golden [74]
The low growl woke her up.
She stayed still, her heart pounding, trying to ascertain if the noise she had heard was real or imaginary. It came again, and she heard the soft noises of Miral moving on the furs next to her.
“It is a grikshak,” said Miral in the faintest of whispers, her lips right at B’Elanna’s ear. “Here.”
B’Elanna felt the wooden shaft of a spear being thrust into her hand. She swallowed hard. Whatever was out there was big. At Miral’s touch on her shoulder, she began to crawl forward as quietly as possible toward the front of the cave.
[221] By the faint light of the stars, B’Elanna could see the creature snuffling about the campsite. Her mother was right. It was indeed a grikshak, much bigger than the one she had killed earlier. It was hard to tell the color in the dim light, but when it moved its head B’Elanna saw the tusks. A mature female, then.
“Stay quiet,” came Miral’s voice in her ear. “It will not attack unless it knows we are here.”
Torres realized she was shaking. Her stomach clenched. It had been hard enough to kill the young female, but to take on an adult one—
The grikshak froze. Its nostrils twitched, and slowly it turned its massive head to the cave.
“We fight together, daughter,” said Miral, and charged.
Chapter 20
Message received and understood, Peregrine. We have several people working on finding a cure for the virus and they feel they are close to a solution. Now that we know where the threat lies, finding a cure will be our secondary goal. Admiral Montgomery says to tell you, and I quote, “We’re going to take the bitch down.”
“Yes!” Libby cried, pounding her fist on the table so hard it startled a napping Rowena. Quickly she sent a reply:
You may trust Assistant Director Aidan Fletcher. He is prepared to assist you from inside Starfleet Intelligence. You need to be aware that it is highly likely, though not yet confirmed, that there are Borg nanoprobes carrying the virus scattered throughout the complex. Anyone who ventures inside could become infected. I am sending you [223]two sets of coordinates, those of Starfleet Intelligence’s command center and those of Covington’s own office. Utilize whichever location seems wisest to you. Take all precautions.
An instant later, she received a response.
How do you know we can trust Fletcher? If what you’re saying is true, then Covington, Grady, and Blake are involved. Who’s to say Fletcher isn’t?
You’ll have to believe me, Lieutenant Kim. I haven’t led you astray thus far. A.D. Fletcher is trustworthy and has been brought up to speed. You’re wasting time. She hesitated, and then wrote, Godspeed.
She severed the connection. He would not be able to get in touch with her again unless she initiated the contact. Libby wouldn’t know if they were successful until someone deigned to let her know. This was the part that chafed—letting others go in and do the tough stuff.
Quickly she contacted Fletcher. “Clear?” she asked, making sure it was safe to speak.
“Clear.” He looked worn out, but hopeful. “Were you able to reach your contact?”
“Yes. You’re going to be hearing from Harry Kim and Admiral Montgomery shortly,” she said without preamble. “Probably all of Voyager’s, senior staff, too, I think.”
His eyes widened slightly, but other than that he betrayed no surprise. “Guess you do have friends in high places. All right. We’ll be waiting for them. We’ll take it from here. Libby—”
“Yes, sir?”
He smiled. “Very, very well done.”
[224] “Thanks,” she said, then added, somewhat inanely, “Let me know what happens, okay?” He actually laughed at that. “You bet,” he said.
“Are you ready, Your Majesty?” asked the EMH.
Covington nodded. She stood in her alcove, the EMH and Blake only a meter away. Her heart was racing and her mouth was dry, but she was indeed ready.
“May I caution you one last time that this might be more than your implants can process?” said the EMH.
“You may not,” growled Covington. “Proceed. We’re running out of time.”
Sighing, the EMH turned to Blake