Unworthy - Kirsten Beyer [86]
“No way,” Paris insisted.
After a moment, Kim said, “I’d have to agree. Of everyone that comes to mind, she’d be the least likely to underestimate the risks involved in contacting Species 8472 again.”
Eden nodded, then asked, “And Chakotay?”
Tense silence descended between them.
Paris was the first to break it. “Absolutely not.”
Kim refused to meet Eden’s eyes and suddenly looked like he wished he’d never been called into the meeting.
“Lieutenant?” Eden asked.
“I don’t know,” Kim finally admitted.
“What are you talking about?” Paris demanded, his voice rising.
“I’m saying I don’t know,” Kim replied forcefully. “I mean, the last time we served with him, he was in pretty bad shape. Then he resigns his commission.”
“To help Seven,” Paris interjected.
“Maybe,” Kim said. “But I can understand why Captain Eden might not be as quick as you are to dismiss him as a suspect.”
“Now he’s a suspect?” Paris was very close to shouting.
“Look, I’m in charge of security and I’d be remiss in my duties if I didn’t consider every possibility, even the ones I don’t like,” Kim argued.
Paris rose from his chair, his face flushed. “I know Chakotay. I’ve been through good and bad with him and there is no way the man who helped lead us home and who had our backs for years after that would ever intentionally do anything to put this crew at risk. He has my full confidence, Captain,” Paris insisted. “If he says he came here to help Seven, then that’s why he’s here.”
“Maybe he’s trying to help Seven,” Kim suggested. “Maybe he thinks that Species 8472 has an answer we don’t. He did get pretty close to some of them when we discovered that simulation of Starfleet Command.”
“That was his job,” Paris fired back. “He was an undercover operative. And he worked as hard as any of us to create the peace accord we established then. He’s not going to break it, not when it would run the risk of war between the Federation and Species 8472.”
“Calm down, both of you,” Eden snapped. After a subdued pause she went on, “I want you to work together to review the personnel roster of Voyager, Hawking, and Galen, and bring me a list of anyone present who might have reason and opportunity to sabotage this ship. I’ll expect your report by the end of the day, tomorrow.”
Kim rose to stand at attention beside Paris.
“Aye, Captain,” he said with a nod.
They both turned briskly to exit. Before they reached the door, Eden added, “Gentlemen, I don’t know what personal difficulties you might be experiencing right now, but I need you to set them aside and get this done. You know this ship and crew better than most, and your insight is absolutely required. That said, I’ll buck you both back to crewmen and you can spend the next few years scrubbing waste reclamation conduits if you don’t find a way to pull yourselves together. Frankly, I’m surprised at both of you right now.” She paused to allow her words to sink in. “Solve this,” she finished. “Or I will.”
“Yes, Captain,” they replied in near unison.
B’Elanna was elbow-deep replicating the section of the deflector dish that would replace the portion Hawking had destroyed. Having been the one to suggest firing, she felt honor-bound to provide Nancy with a replacement as soon as possible. She’d already spoken with Tom and he had agreed to look in on Miral while working on his own project. B’Elanna didn’t know the details—only that he didn’t sound happy.
She stood back, pleased to see that those who she had once commanded were performing their repairs both diligently and cheerfully. For them, a crisis in the Delta quadrant was nothing new. Warmed by the fact that many of the engineers had taken a moment to greet her, B’Elanna realized how right it felt. She hadn’t expected this.
Nancy Conlon ran her engine room with a quiet resolve. She was tough when she needed to be, generous with praise, and always ready with healthy doses of gallows humor. More important, she was decisive. Many engineers tended to get lost in the details.