Unworthy - Kirsten Beyer [73]
“I don’t know,” Seven heard herself reply.
The Doctor’s concern for Seven was heightened as she moved quickly from the exam room and returned to the main medical bay. There, he was surprised to find Lieutenant Vorik consulting with Meegan. Atop the large diagnostic station, a solid metal canister was bathed in a soft, blue light, clearly undergoing analysis.
Seven was drawn to it, her eyes wide as she slowly approached it. She continued to mutter softly under her breath. At first the Doctor assumed that she was carrying on a conversation with the voice, but he couldn’t imagine what she had meant when she said that something had changed.
As Seven was engrossed with the canister, the Doctor readied a quick hypospray in the event this troubling situation grew dangerous to her. He had left the inhibitor in the examination room but didn’t dare go to retrieve it.
“Lieutenant Vorik, what is that canister?” the Doctor demanded.
Unperturbed, Vorik replied, “It was sent to Voyager by the Indign. I have been searching for a way to open it. My scans have revealed a hollow core and a locking mechanism that I cannot access.”
“Why have you brought it here?” the Doctor asked, not tearing his eyes away from Seven.
“I have detected faint neural energy within. Galen’s bioscanners are the most advanced in the fleet and they should provide me with a more definitive analysis.”
The Doctor couldn’t fault Vorik’s logic.
Seven did not seem to have heard their exchange. She remained focused exclusively on the canister. Suddenly, she disengaged the diagnostic. Vorik began to protest.
The Doctor stopped him. Moving to Seven’s side he asked, “What are you doing?”
Seven didn’t answer. Instead, she picked up the canister by its ends and slowly began to turn those ends in opposite directions. There was clearly purpose to her actions, yet she gave the impression of a sleepwalker.
“I have already made numerous attempts to open it in that manner,” Vorik pointed out. “It is not possible.”
With a click and a hiss, one end popped open.
“Apparently it is,” the Doctor corrected him as a blinding white light enveloped the medical bay.
According to his internal self-diagnostic subroutines, two point one six minutes had elapsed since the Doctor had recorded his impressions of the light. He had not been offline during that time. All indications were that his program had been functioning normally.
It was impossible to understand, then, why he had absolutely no memory of those two point one six minutes.
Much as he wished to further analyze this mysterious turn of events, the scene that met his eyes demanded his immediate attention. Seven and Vorik lay unmoving on the floor, clearly unconscious. Meegan stood at the far side of the room, studying the main control panel.
“Meegan,” he said quickly, “this is an emergency. Why aren’t you tending to our patients?”
Meegan made no move to turn or answer him.
“Meegan!” he called again as he grabbed the nearest tricorder and quickly scanned both Seven and Vorik. To his relief, both showed strong life signs and normal neural activity. They would awaken on their own shortly. As he debated formulating a light stimulant to speed this process along, Meegan finally turned and stared at him with cold, merciless eyes.
“I have come,” she said imperiously.
“Yes, you reported for duty several hours ago,” he chided her. “And since your shift hasn’t ended, I’d appreciate your help.”
“I have come,” Meegan repeated.
The Doctor suddenly realized that nothing in his memory files for Meegan could account for her present, odd behavior. He stepped gingerly toward her, raising his tricorder as he went.
“Meegan, are you feeling all right?” he asked.
“Meegan is gone,” she replied. “I have come to speak for the Indign.”
200 KIRSTEN BEYER
Admiral Batiste felt his shoulders stiffen as “Meegan” was escorted into Voyager’s conference room, flanked by two security officers. She had been entirely cooperative during her transport from the Galen . Upon entering the room she paused and inspected