The Murdered Sun - Christie Golden [27]
"There goes that idea," said Paris glumly.
Janeway looked thoughtful. "Not necessarily. We could go into Sun-Eater and find out for ourselves."
"I do not think it would be prudent," Tuvok advised. "There can be no doubt that, if there are more Akerian vessels at this base, and we must assume that there are, they would perceive it as an attack."
"My thoughts exactly, Vulcan!" piped up Neelix. "We should not put this vessel directly at risk. I don't think anyway."
"I seem to recall a certain Talaxian saying that the Akerians never surrender and never flee," said Paris archly.
Neelix didn't miss a beat. "And delighted I am to be wrong.
Absolutely delighted."
"But would it even matter?" chimed in Kim. "I mean, if there is a wormhole in there, and all the evidence we've gathered seems to indicate that there is, then we'd simply go through it."
"Mr. Kim," replied Tuvok, "I did not think I needed to remind you that there is only a one in four chance that this wormhole will lead to the Alpha Quadrant."
Kim ducked his head, blushing. Paris felt a wave of sympathy.
Harry was a good kid. A little overeager, perhaps, but his enthusiasm had made Paris's day more than once. He didn't like to see Harry getting slapped down, even if it was by a Vulcan who certainly didn't mean it as a personal attack.
"But even the Beta Quadrant would cut down our time immensely," said Paris, defending his friend. "That means it's a fifty-fifty shot."
"And even if there is no wormhole," said Chakotay, "we know that we are more than able to defend ourselves against the Akerians as long as we don't let those pods attach themselves to our shields a second time. I say we go in."
Everyone else seemed in agreement, and Tuvok raised an eyebrow and nodded, yielding to the will of the majority. Neelix alone looked thoroughly unhappy with the decision.
"Captain," came the Viha's voice. "If you have decided to enter Sun-Eater, may we ask that you attempt to rescue our people?"
Janeway looked apologetic. "Viha, much as we sympathize with your cause, such direct involvement would have to be looked on by the Akerians as an act of war. And that, we're not prepared to do. I'm sorry."
Viha Nata lowered her head. Even Paris felt a twinge of sympathy for the strange-looking creature.
Chakotay spoke up. "Captain, we could take a few of them in under our shields. That way, we'd be providing protection from the gravimetric force without openly engaging in the rescue mission."
Janeway considered this. "B'Elanna, would extending our shields to cover the Verunan ships put an undue strain on them?"
The half-Klingon engineer shook her dark head. "Negative, Captain.
Not once they're up to full strength."
Janeway straightened in her chair, fixing her officers with a hawk's gaze. "I'd like to help these people where we can," she announced.
"Passive shielding could help them transport innocent people to safety without jeopardizing our ship or our own mission to explore the concavity. Your opinions?"
"Captain, if we are successful, we would not be returning," Tuvok pointed out.
The captain's face hardened. "It would cost us nothing but a little time to escort them back out, see them safely to Veruna Four, and reenter Sun-Eater. I'm willing to give them that time."
"Captain," and Chakotay's smooth voice was somber, "we will be abandoning them to the wrath of the Akerians. Do you wish to rescue them, then leave them to their fate?"
Viha Nata spoke up before Janeway could reply. "Commander Chakotay, we do not expect you to fight our battles for us--even though you could win them and we cannot. It is not your sun that is dying by the day.
It is not your children who die huddled in their shells. It is not your planet that now reeks of decay as the temperature warms by the hour. You have already frightened our enemies away, something that even the most idealistic of us never dreamed