The Sky's the Limit - Marco Palmieri [83]
DeSeve fell forward, one hand catching the table. He thought he could see his bones. He looked away and for an instant saw what seemed to be a room full of skeletons.
“Red Alert!” Picard shouted. “Number One, come about!”
Again, Enterprise lurched, struggling to obey the helm.
“Engineering,” Picard spoke more quietly. “Report.”
Commander Riker answered first, shouting from the bridge. “We’ve dropped out of warp. Impulse engines and structural integrity are intact, Captain. Life support operational. Ship’s systems are on emergency power. Radiation levels are rising, though.”
Worf, struggling with the impossibility of both guarding his captain in the ready room and returning to his duty station on the bridge, strode away to check his tactical console after a sharp nod from Picard. His voice boomed over the comm. “Khazara’s disruptor beam had almost no power.”
“It was linked to the transporter,” came Data’s lighter tones, also from the bridge. “We know very little about Romulan technology.”
“We should not instantly assume we are under attack,” Picard said. “Do you detect any ships?”
“None, sir,” replied Riker. “No imbalances, and no signs from the gravitic sensors. Data, get down to engineering to tune the tachyon detection grid.”
“Negative, Will. Another radiation burst like that could wipe Data’s positronic circuits. Data, how are you feeling? Concisely, Data,” Picard added quickly.
“Unimpaired, sir. Thus far.”
“Mister La Forge.” Only the way Picard drew out the engineer’s name indicated his impatience. “Come in, Mister La Forge.”
“We’ve got casualties. Two dead. Mister La Forge is down, sir,” came a female voice, between bursts of static. “A discharge took out two men. Geordi went to the controls, said he hadn’t seen energy spikes that bad since Galorndon Core. Another one hit, and he put both hands on his VISOR, ripped it off, and collapsed.”
“Sickbay,” Picard continued. “Beverly…”
“Initiating precautionary radiation protocols shipwide. En route to engineering, Captain. On foot,” came a voice DeSeve recognized. His fears for Doctor Crusher’s safety seemed far in the past. They were all in danger now.
Data appeared in the ready room. “With respect, Captain…” Android he might be, but he knew when to fall silent. Quickly, he joined Worf in passing out radiation sprays. M’ret’s aides interposed themselves between the android and their leader.
“Sirs, these sprays are not species-specific,” Data said. “I can assure you they will do no…”
“We have had Romulans on board before,” Worf added. “One survived. Are you afraid?” The sneer in his voice would have kindled a small nova, much less Romulans’ volatile tempers.
“Enough,” M’ret snapped. Grasping a hypospray, he set it against his arm, then raised an eyebrow at his aides. They too injected themselves, then pressed their backs against the viewports, taking themselves out of the action. At least DeSeve no longer saw their bones through their flesh.
“Engineering,” Picard called again. “I am coming down there, and I will expect a full report. Beverly, we’ve got to get Geordi functioning again.”
Not to mention the ship.
“Data, are you still all right?”
“At the moment, I remain operational, sir. But the entire ship is being subjected to increasing levels of radiation,” Data observed.
“Back to the bridge with you,” Picard said. “If you feel anything…”
“If my systems deteriorate sufficiently to render me unreliable, I will report myself unfit for duty, Captain.”
“You’ll shut yourself down! You’re one of the best resources we have.”
“Aye, sir,” Data’s imperturbable voice replied. Eerie shadows flickered over the gold of his face and hands as he nodded.
“Number One, you have the bridge. The rest of you, with me.”
“With respect, Captain,” said Commander Riker as the group strode onto the bridge. The first officer was clearly reluctant to risk his captain in the presence of three