Unworthy - Kirsten Beyer [134]
“This unnamed slave bows before no one,” Tom replied.
“Me either,” Harry added.
“Excellent,” Cambridge replied with a wide smile. “Then let the games begin.”
Tom was momentarily blinded by a whirring of dust erupting at Cambridge’s feet. As the storm gathered intensity, Chaotica’s forces were concealed within it and when it began to disperse, Tom and Harry found themselves alone.
“Damn,” Harry said.
“What?”
“I wish I’d eaten before I came.”
Tom slapped him on the back to buck him up. “Don’t worry, we’ll find you something. I bet that castle is full of food.”
Harry began trudging toward it wordlessly, straining with each step as the deep and shifting sands moved beneath their feet.
Tom hurried to keep pace. “You know,” he began, “I can’t remember the last time you and I had time for this kind of thing.”
Harry merely shrugged.
“It could be fun,” Tom continued, trying desperately to make the best of it.
“This isn’t going to fix anything,” Harry muttered. “It’s stupid and pointless, just like every Captain Proton program we ever ran together.”
“So now you’re not even interested in having fun ?” Tom exclaimed. “You really have changed, Harry.”
“No I haven’t,” he countered hotly. “You have.”
“Here we go,” Tom began.
“Later,” Harry said, his eyes looking past Tom’s and widening in alarm.
“No, let’s talk about it now,” Tom insisted. “This is ridiculous. You’re my best friend and I’m not going to let this go …”
“Later!” Harry screamed, tackling Tom to the ground as an energy bolt flew over their heads.
“What the hell was that?” Tom asked.
“I don’t know,” Harry said, covering his head as more pulses began to pound the sand around them.
Tom quickly assessed the situation and started to pull Harry to his feet.
“What are you—” Harry demanded.
“Run! Now!” Tom replied, breaking for a low hill of swirling sand, the only nearby cover.
Turning back, they both saw the approaching troops. They weren’t human and they were heavily armed.
“I’m with you,” Harry agreed.
Crying out in unison, they threw themselves over the crest of the hill.
B’Elanna was tapping her foot nervously and biting fitfully on her thumbnail when Counselor Cambridge emerged from the holodeck, smiling.
“Well?” Nancy demanded.
“Thank you both for agreeing to aid me in getting these two patients to their first session.”
“Did you really turn off the safeties?” B’Elanna asked nervously.
“Even if he did, I can override that,” Nancy assured her.
“Of course, I didn’t,” Cambridge replied, clearly offended. “I’m mad, but I’m not mad, if you take my meaning.”
B’Elanna didn’t and from the look on Nancy’s face, neither did she. Of course the ridiculous flowing robes and villainous black moustache did little to instill confidence.
“How long do you think this is going to take?” B’Elanna asked.
“As long as it takes,” Cambridge replied. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a planet to destroy.” With an evil and joyful “Mwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha,” Cambridge turned on his heel, his cape swirling around him, punctuating his movement as he reentered the holodeck.
“What have we done?” Nancy asked when they were again alone.
“I don’t know,” B’Elanna replied. “I just hope it works.”
Deep in her heart of hearts, B’Elanna suspected it would.
“Want to grab breakfast?” Nancy asked.
“Are you a fan of banana pancakes?” B’Elanna replied.
“Never tried them.”
“Oh, you don’t know what you’ve been missing.”
“Really?”
Chakotay decided that the bridge’s center seat was a lot more comfortable than he remembered. He knew that the bridge had been completely refitted in his absence, but he hadn’t expected the upgrades to include relative luxuries. He turned to the empty seat to his left. By now, Tom and Harry should both be well into their first counseling session. Chakotay smiled at the thought of both of them at the mercy of Cambridge. He had no doubt that soon enough they’d come to their senses. The counselor was singularly skilled at forcing people to confront their own idiocy—a fact Chakotay could attest to from personal experience.