The Murdered Sun - Christie Golden [93]
"Injury reports coming in from all over the ship. Our shields are down fifty-six percent. One of the Verunan ships was severely damaged but no casualties." He glanced up at her. "We seem to be okay for the moment."
She nodded acknowledgment. "Where's the Destroyer?"
It appeared on the screen. It had been closer to the concavity at the moment of explosion and had fared far worse than the Voyager. "Its shields are gone, Captain, and it's taken a lot of damage," said Kim.
"Open a frequency. Offer assistance. I've got a hunch that this may have knocked the fight out of First Warrior Garai."
While Kim did so, Janeway gazed at where Sun-Eater had been. It was a huge cluster of swirling asteroids and still-glowing chunks of star matter. In time, it would become a planetary nebula.
Even now, the inhabitants of Veruna Four would be able to look up and instead of seeing a great bruise against their sky, they would see a swirling, colorful assembly.
The sun was no longer immediately endangered. The river of light that had flowed toward the concavity slowed, ceased, began to turn back on itself.
The great Sun-Eater was no more.
CHAPTER 18
Captain's Log, Stardate 43897.1: As I had predicted, with most of the Akerian fleet disabled, First Warrior Garai was willing to cooperate.
I have found him to be intelligent and thoughtful, and my brief conversations with him give me hope that what I plan to do will be successful.
Though the Destroyer is disabled, life-support systems are still functional. We have transported all the remaining Akerians from the various damaged vessels on board and have locked a tractor beam onto the ship. More survived the encounters than I had thought, which is also encouraging if peace is to be achieved.
After a brief stopover on Veruna Four, we are heading for the Akerian star system. We should reach Akeras in approximately forty-seven minutes. On board with us is Viha Nata and a small entourage. Let this record show that the destruction of the concavity, which the Verunans call Sun-Eater, has bought the inhabitants of Veruna Four time. The planet will be habitable for more than a century now instead of a brief twenty-five years.
Janeway paused, wondering if she should enter the news about Kaavi and Anahu. It pleased her, and she knew it had pleased and touched Tom Paris, though he wasn't one to show it. But she'd seen his reaction when Nata had told him, though he claimed loudly that he'd "gotten something in my eye."
But perhaps the formal log wasn't an appropriate place to record it.
She decided that in her personal log, she'd state that, with a real future ahead of them, Kaavi and Anahu had chosen to become lifemates, that they had gone to the hatching pit, that a youngster had hatched and imprinted on them within less than three hours, and that they had named the large-eyed, inquisitive male child Tom Paris.
Smiling, she continued her entry.
Let the record show that Lieutenant Tom Paris has displayed great initiative and leadership abilities as well as compassion and adaptability. Let the record also show that Ensign Harry Kim has performed exceptionally under trying circumstances. His research and integration of information from a variety of alien sources--and several intense bouts of discussion with a captain who was a former science officer--has made a significant contribution toward understanding what transpired in this sector centuries ago. And that understanding may well be the cornerstone of a lasting peace between the Verunans and the Akerians.
But Ensign Kim has declined the offer to present the information he has worked so hard to gather. After some discussion with First Officer Chakotay, he and I decided to jointly present our findings to Viha Nata and the empress Riva--in a very unusual fashion.
I believe that the strange feeling in my stomach just might be stage fright.
An hour