Unworthy - Kirsten Beyer [37]
Paris turned directly to Eden and said softly, “Captain, my wife and my daughter are aboard that ship.”
Eden’s eyes widened in surprise but she replied just as softly, “Your recently deceased wife and daughter?”
“Yes, Captain,” Tom confirmed.
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
Eden’s jaw clenched but it was clear she didn’t doubt him. It was equally clear that once the confrontation was done, Tom was going to have a lot of explaining to do.
“Red Alert,” Eden called out. “Battle stations.” Klaxons sounded as the bridge was bathed in a crimson glow.
“Shields at maximum. Charging weapons,” Harry said.
“Ensign Gwyn, put us between the shuttle and the cube. Ensign Lasren, as soon as we’re in position, advise the pilot of that shuttle to drop shields and prepare for emergency transport.”
Voyager moved gracefully into position. The shuttle disengaged. The ship shuddered as the fire intended for B’Elanna was absorbed by Voyager instead. Kim’s reports indicated that they had sustained no serious damage.
“Return fire?” Kim asked.
“Not unless it becomes absolutely necessary,” Eden replied. “Lasren, have we got the crew of that shuttle on board yet?”
Tom’s breath caught in his chest until Lasren replied, “Confirmed, Captain. Two individuals transported aboard. They require medical attention and are on their way to sickbay.”
With a firm nod and a withering glance at Paris, Eden ordered, “Lock onto the shuttle with a tractor beam and get us out of here. Full impulse.”
The helm began to execute the maneuver but the alien ship, which obviously didn’t know when it was beaten, pursued and continued to fire.
“What are they doing?” Kim asked. “They couldn’t take that shuttle. They don’t stand a prayer against us.”
“There’s no one aboard to reason that out,” Lasren reminded him.
Eden addressed the pursuers. “Alien vessel. We mean you no harm. We have just recovered two of our people and do not intend to continue these hostilities. Stand down.”
The only response was continued, intermittent phaser fire.
“Lieutenant Kim, can you target their propulsion system?”
“It’s hard to say, Captain,” Harry replied. “Our sensors show fifteen different configurations that could indicate propulsion.”
“Pick the two most likely and fire,” Eden ordered. “I want to disable them, not destroy them.”
Bright blue beams intersected with the cube and massive explosions bloomed across its scarred hull.
“Brace for impact!” Harry called as the subsequent immolation of the cube sent violent shockwaves spreading through space, tossing Voyager about in their wake.
Once the dust had settled, Eden turned a hard gaze toward Paris, but addressed Kim.
“Do we need to look at the definition of disable, Lieutenant Kim?” she asked.
“I’m sorry, Captain,” Harry replied. “The ship had sustained too much damage. I can confirm that no-life forms were aboard.”
“Stand down Red Alert,” Eden said cheerlessly. “Begin full analysis of the debris. I want to know where that ship came from and to whom exactly we now owe an apology.” To Lasren she added, “Contact Hawking and Galen. Advise them to regroup at our position to assist in the investigation.”
Finally the captain turned on her first officer. “Why is it, Mister Paris, that we couldn’t manage five minutes in the Delta quadrant without ticking off the natives?”
“I’m sorry, Captain,” Paris said earnestly. “Permission to report to sickbay?”
“With me,” Eden replied in a voice that chilled him. Rising from her seat she headed toward her ready room. “Mister Kim, the bridge is yours.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
The Doctor considered the hypothetical catom. It was truly a miraculous piece of engineering. He had studied a wide variety of molecular technology, but the catom in its elegance and simplicity put the the nanoprobe to shame. Of course, it frustrated him to a degree that he wasn’t certain he was actually looking at a catom. He had isolated discrete packets of molecules within Seven where once, much cruder machines had been integrated into her organic systems. For now, he labeled these particles catoms. Understanding