Tooth and Claw - Doranna Durgin [38]
place on the Collins when he’d loaded the extra space with odds and ends that might come in handy on this assignment. And he was lucky, as well, that the natural shape of the scooter pod shield bubbles nearly matched what he needed, even if he did need to figure out a way to enlarge them to encompass the shuttle engines.
“You seem distracted,” Data said. “Maybe it would be best if we continued this conversation at another time.”
Oops. La Forge scooped up the comm unit—a clumsy thing, as big as his head—and deposited it on the sled. “Sorry, Data. I’m just worried about what I’ve got to accomplish here. The way that tech-damping field interferes with the transfer of energy within …”
“The shuttle shields should have been adequate to protect against that, as long as—”
“Yeah, yeah, as long as Commander Riker restricted himself to basic systems. And it would have been, I’m certain of it, if it hadn’t been for that energy surge. It’s just that we can’t take that chance with the Collins.”
“Study of the Fandrean forcefields might suggest ways in which you can adequately modify the existing shuttle shields.”
“First thing I thought of.” La Forge guided the sled out of the scooter pod hangar, and onto the glittering pavement of the Legacy landing pad. The heat that had been pleasant that morning was now oppressively steamy; the heavily clouded sky rumbled at him. “But then I thought it might be a better idea to augment our shields with theirs. Double-layered, so to speak.” A heavy drop of rain splat ted onto his head as he approached the shuttle; the cargo door opened and lowered on cue, thanks to the security guard waiting there. They all felt a little helpless, the security guards did—La Forge was lucky he wasn’t tripping all over them, as
eager as they were to help in some way. He shrugged, as much to himself as to the invisible presence of Data. “Double-shielding seems to work for them. We might as well give it a try.”
“There is a chance that the two systems will interfere with one another. Too many cooks spoil the broth.” Data’s disembodied voice seemed odder than ever, away from the building and coming from the sled. The officer —Lieutenant Chueng—coming to meet La Forge from inside the shuttle gave the sled a startled second glance.
Spoil the broth. Right. La Forge shook his head. “Yeah, well… we’ll just have to wait and see.” But it better not happen, because if Riker and the ReynTa had gone down in the carnivore-packed Legacy, they didn’t have the time for Geordi to try again.
Chapter Seven
the kaphoora had been planned with day hikes—the Tsorans carrying small but adequate packs to get them through the day with plenty to eat and drink, and personal tarps for the late-afternoon rains. That the packs suited Riker’s human frame poorly did not bother Akarr in the least; the man should be grateful that there was a pack for him to carry, and should thank dead Pavar for the use of it.
He eyed Riker with annoyance as they followed the crash path past Pavar’s memory spot and the human hesitated, eyeing the huge rocks that covered the spot. Impressed, Akarr would have said—and the site indeed deserved such a response. Because the shuttle had dug into rock at this point—throwing it up and aside in a frozen wave of earth—it had been easy to put Pavar to rest, cover the site, and then roll down rocks that ordinarily would have been much too large to handle. Rocks
as big as Akarr himself, rocks that would protect the spot as an eternal memory site.
But somehow it raised the hair on his arms to have the human examine it so. “Are you slowing us already?” He kept his voice gruff, knowing Riker had a difficult time understanding him when he did so, and that he had no concept of the significance of different under-purrs … or how badly he’d just been insulted.
Or maybe he did. Riker strode away from the memory site, one hand holding the pack to a more comfortable position, a large flashing blade swinging in the other. Akarr stared at it as Riker approached. He hadn’t paid any attention