The Sky's the Limit - Marco Palmieri [21]
Finding himself in the middle of a firefight, the other guard was confused, and he hesitated. Crusher saw the look in his eyes as he backpedaled away from the melee, the muzzle of his weapon swinging dangerously close to where Commander Spires lay defenseless even as he came abreast of her and seized her forearm in a tight grip. Without thinking, Crusher thumbed the exoscalpel in her hand to its highest setting and aimed it at the guard’s weapon hand.
The guard shrieked in pain, dropping his disruptor and releasing his hold on Crusher to clutch his wounded hand. He staggered away from the doctor and Crusher again heard weapons fire as Yar targeted the guard with her own disruptor, the energy pulse striking the Cardassian in the chest and pushing him into a freestanding surgical tray. Instruments and other equipment scattered as he fell unconscious to the deck.
More shots echoed in the infirmary and Crusher glimpsed Malir crouching near the door. When Yar swung her weapon in his direction and loosed another barrage, the glinn pushed the control to open the door and scrambled outside in search of cover.
“Seal the room!” Daret yelled from where he knelt next to Edal. “That large orange button near the door. It will initiate a containment field around the entire infirmary!”
Yar slammed the large oval button with the heel of her hand, and an adjacent indicator illuminated at the same time a low-resonance hum flared into existence. “Quarantine procedures are now in effect,” said the monotone voice of the Kovmar’s onboard computer. “Entry to infirmary restricted to medical personnel only.”
“That won’t hold Malir for long,” Daret said, “but it will give us some time.” He rolled Edal onto his back, and for the first time Crusher could see the ghastly wound in the gul’s left side.
“Doctor,” she heard Edal say in a weak voice. “You…alert…crew.”
Grunting something Crusher did not understand, Daret rushed to a control panel and smacked it with his fist. “This is Doctor Daret to all hands. Glinn Malir has just tried to murder Gul Edal. He intends to take over the ship. All personnel to duty stations. Malir must be apprehended at once!” Deactivating the communications panel, Daret shook his head. “Enough of that.”
“What will they do?” Crusher asked.
“It depends on how many of the crew Malir has convinced to follow him,” Daret replied. “I have no idea what to expect.” He shook his head. “This is my fault. I should never have brought you into this.”
“Too late for that now,” Crusher said. Still hovering over T’Lan, her attention split between her own patient and the one Daret now served, she nodded toward Edal. “How is he?”
“He’s dying,” Daret replied. “The disruptor ruptured his mulana. The organ’s destroyed. I can keep him alive only a short time without a replacement or a bypass of some sort, and I don’t have that type of equipment here.”
Crusher considered the diagnosis. For Yar’s benefit, she said, “It functions like a liver in humans. We might have something that can help.” She recalled how she had overseen the packing of the cargo containers they had brought with them, instructing her staff to include a number of items as a contingency. “Tasha, on the shuttle is what’s called a portable dynamic organ stimulator. You’ll have to get it. Transport over and bring it back.”
“Understood,” Yar replied, nodding.
“Wait,” Daret said. “Assuming internal security hasn’t already blocked your ability to communicate with your shuttle, they will the moment they detect any signal. You may have time for one transport before they react—but that will be all.”
Shaking her head, Crusher exhaled in growing irritation. It’s always something. “Take him with you,” she said. “Treat him aboard the shuttle.