The Garden - Melissa Scott [6]
Kim turned to the turbolift, and was not surprised when both Neelix and Paris crowded in with him. "Shuttlebay," he said, to the computer, and looked pointedly at the others.
"Shuttlebay," Paris said, cheerfully. "I thought I might be able to give you some help."
"Thanks," Kim said, surprised but pleased, and Neelix cleared his throat.
"Galley," he said, to the computer. "I mean, deck three. Officers' lounge. You know, gentlemen, I simply don't understand how this could have happened. I steered you to a perfect planet, one that met all the captain's criteria-no indigenous population, she said, and outside the Kazon-Ogla sphere, or almost, and it had to be rich in edible plant life. Not exactly easy to find, especially not in this quadrant, but I did exactly what was required."
"I'm sure it wasn't your fault," Kim said. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Paris grin, and fixed the other man with a disapproving stare. If Paris started one of his practical jokes now ... At that moment, the turbolift slowed, and he gave a sigh of relief as the door opened.
"I've done my best," Neelix said, and stepped out into the corridor. The turbolift doors closed again, and Paris snorted.
"Why is it that his best never quite works out the way we expected it to?"
"Or that he did," Kim answered, and then shook his head. "You're not being fair, Tom."
"I suppose not," Paris said, reluctantly abandoning his joke. "So, what do we do now?"
"I wish I knew."
The turbolift slid to a stop again, and the doors opened onto the dimly lit lower corridor that gave access to the shuttlebays. Power had been rerouted from the corridor lighting to the hydroponics trays and the special lights that helped to feed the plants, and to the preservation fields that kept the provisions stored in the second, smaller shuttlebay, and the corridor was not only dim, but oddly chilly. It was probably purely psychological, Kim knew, or at best the contrast with the warmer air of the hydroponics room, but he always found himself shivering when he came down to the converted shuttlebays.
"All right," said Paris, "then where do we start?"
Kim touched the wall controls, disengaging the locks on the storage room door, and then reached for his tricorder. "I guess with whatever Neelix has been using most of-the tomato-things, maybe."
Paris reached for his own tricorder, and Kim heard soft machine beeps as the other man consulted his data. "I just got the computer to check the menus for the last six weeks, since we took this stuff on board. You're right, the tomato-things have showed up in nearly every meal since then, and then he's used a lot of the sour-cane-"
"Sour-cane?"
"The stringy stuff that tastes like onions and lemons. And there's a big bean that comes in third."
"Those are all things that we were afraid would spoil." The soft, female voice came from the doorway of the hydroponics room. "Hello, Harry. Is something wrong?"
Kim turned to face the Ocampa woman, his lips curving into an automatic smile. "Hello, Kes."
"What, no hello for me?" Paris asked, grinning, and Kes smiled at him politely.
"Hello, Tom. Is something wrong?"
"Hasn't the doctor told you?" Kim asked. Kes had been studying with the holographic doctor almost since she came on board.
Kes shook her head, frowning now. "He's been very busy lately, and so have I, trying to get the new seedlings established. I haven't spoken with him in days."
"A lot of the crew are suffering from a vitamin deficiency," Kim said. "Even though there should be enough of the vitamin in the food we're eating. We're trying to find out why."
"Is it serious?" Kes asked.
"It could be fatal," Paris answered.
"Can I help?" Kes looked at Kim, who nodded.
"Another pair of hands can only speed things up."
"Let me get my tricorder," Kes said, and disappeared back into the hydroponics room.
Kim looked at his tricorder again, checking the menu of preprogrammed tests. He had run