The Sky's the Limit - Marco Palmieri [35]
That thought brought her earlier conversation with Wesley back into focus. Was it really confidence that drove her, or was it sheer stubbornness? What kept her from accepting help when it was offered?
Her introspection was interrupted when she felt a shudder run through the ship. “Martin, what the hell was that?”
Martin didn’t reply at first, but Pulaski could hear someone talking to him in the background. When he came back on, his voice was rushed. “There’s been some kind of explosion in engineering. Not sure what caused it yet, but it was powerful. You may need to send more people up here. I’ll let you know when damage control gives me the word.”
Pulaski motioned med team 2 over and ordered them to report to auxiliary. She turned back to the communicator when the sounds of a disturbance drew her attention. “Martin, what’s going on down there?” The sounds of fighting could be heard in the background.
“The aliens breached the hull in engineering and there’s a fight going on…Watch out, Tim! Holy—I never even saw—”
“Martin? Martin? Answer me, Martin.” Pulaski smashed down the communicator button. “Pulaski to bridge. Captain, what the hell’s going on?”
Captain Picard’s voice sounded unruffled on the communicator in contrast to the chaos in engineering. “The unknown ship has attached itself to the Enterprise, Doctor, and is attacking engineering. We’re dispatching security, but our intruder control system was damaged in the explosion. We’re assessing the situation.”
“I’ve lost contact with Doctor Martin and one of my med teams down there.”
A familiar, but somewhat frantic voice broke into the conversation. “Captain, La Forge here. The aliens have taken over main engineering and are spreading out. I can’t explain what I’m seeing, but they’re able to strike before we can put up a defense. Our weapons don’t seem to do any damage to them, either.”
Pulaski frowned, cut in. “Lieutanant, this is Doctor Pulaski. Do they seem immune to the phasers?”
“No, Doctor. It’s more like the beams pass right through them. They’re solid beings, though. I’ve seen them carrying boxes of equipment back to their ship.”
“Scavengers.” Picard’s reaction was more comment than question.
“Looks like it, sir. I haven’t seen them use any weapons, but they’re stronger than they look. I don’t think anyone’s been seriously injured, but I can’t swear to it. I managed to hide, but I don’t know how long I have before they notice me.”
“Where are you located, Mister La Forge?”
“I’m on a catwalk above Deck 33, looking down into main engineering. They’re concentrating on going through our stores.”
“Stay put, Mister La Forge. Security is en route to your area and is sealing off the rest of the ship.”
“Understood, Captain. La Forge out.”
Pulaski motioned for Nurse Ogawa to join her. “I’m going with team 2 to the auxiliary sickbay. I’m not certain what’s going on, but we need to beef up the medical staff aft. You’re in charge here.”
“But what if something goes wrong, Doctor? We can’t afford to lose both Doctor Martin and you.”
Pulaski bit back a sharp retort, recognizing the concern on Nurse Ogawa’s face. “It’s not an optimal solution, but there are casualties in engineering. The quicker medical support gets there, the better off they’ll be. Contact Doctor Selar and have her report to main sickbay as quickly as possible. If the intruders break through the security perimeter, have her lock down all the sickbays to prevent them from getting in.” She patted Ogawa on the shoulder and then turned and told med team 2 to follow her.
The turbolift trip from Deck 12 to Deck 34 seemed to take longer than usual, but Pulaski chalked that up to nerves. As the doors to the turbolift opened, they were met by a small contingent of security personnel.
“Doctor Pulaski, what are you doing here?”
“I’m taking a med team down to sickbay and getting ready to deal with the casualties, Ensign Carson. May we have an escort?”
The red-haired