Read Online Vectors by Dean Wesley Smith, Kristine Kathryn Rusch - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Dean Wesley Smith, Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Tags: Fiction, General, Science-Fiction, Media Tie-In, Space Opera, Life on other planets, Human-alien encounters, Outer Space, Epidemics
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returned.
She had only a few more items to add to her bag, and very little time in which to do it. Her assistants would be reporting here before they went to the docking area to reboard the Enterprise. How strange it would be to be a guest on the very starship she had just served on.
Her hands were shaking, but it was not from fear. It was a release of tension. Her meeting with Starfleet Medical had been dicey. Thank heavens the Enterprise was still in dry dock. She had needed Beverly Crusher's help.
Kellec's request had come in a few hours before. It was less than Starfleet had hoped for. They wanted to send in a large team to study the problem, perhaps work on Bajor. They wanted to use it so that they could gather more information on both the Bajorans and the Cardassians, as well as find a solution to this plague.
But some Cardassian official had anticipated this. The restrictions were severe. Pulaski wasn't sure she could do the work with only a handful of assistants. At first Starfleet wanted her to wait until they could get four specialists in plagues and alien diseases to go with her, but it would take days for the specialists to arrive from their various posts. She didn't have days. That was the one thing Kellec had made very clear.
He wasn't sure he would survive this. The Cardassian doctor who was looking over his shoulder as Kellec contacted Pulaski didn't look very confident either. The information she had gotten from them, purposely sketchy, was awful. They did give her the death rate on their space station, and it was climbing by the hour.
She played the message for Starfleet Medical. Then she asked that Beverly Crusher accompany her, as well as the three other ranking medical officers currently on Deep Space Five.
Starfleet Medical turned her down. This was a risky mission, they said. They didn't dare send that many valued officers.
Meaning they could sacrifice researchers but military medical staff was in short supply.
Meaning there was a good chance Pulaski and her team might not come back.
Starfleet Medical was going to try to negotiate with the Cardassians-after all, they reasoned, this was a medical emergency, and working together could benefit everyone-but Pulaski knew that wouldn't work. She had asked Crusher to come with her to argue for the high-ranking personnel, which hadn't worked. But Crusher had argued against negotiation, and on this Starfleet Medical had listened to their former director. They decided-and the Federation representatives agreed-to let Pulaski go in with lower-ranking assistants.
The next argument was about whether to bring in sophisticated equipment that would help send information back-not medical information, but information on the Cardassians and the Bajorans. Crusher had proved her worth here too, arguing that such equipment would jeopardize the lives of those being sent it.
"This is a mission of mercy," she had said. "We need to treat it like one. If Dr. Pulaski and her colleagues gain information on the Cardassians and Bajorans as a result, they can be debriefed when they return."
If they return. The last sticking point had been travel arrangements. They were going to use the Cardassians' plans to get them to Terok Nor, the space station that Kellec was on, but Pulaski had no idea how they would be able to leave. She was supposed to contact the Federation from Terok Nor when she was ready to go, but she had a hunch that sounded too easy. And what if she wanted to leave and they didn't want her to? They had to have a failsafe for this, and so far no one had suggested one that seemed workable.
Pulaski finished the last of her packing. Amazing how she could bring her life down to two little suitcases-one a sophisticated medical kit with everything she hoped she would need. The other contained basics like clothing and Kellec's favorite-hot chocolate. He couldn't get it anymore on Bajor.
She closed the case just as someone hit the chime outside her door. "Come in,"
She had only a few more items to add to her bag, and very little time in which to do it. Her assistants would be reporting here before they went to the docking area to reboard the Enterprise. How strange it would be to be a guest on the very starship she had just served on.
Her hands were shaking, but it was not from fear. It was a release of tension. Her meeting with Starfleet Medical had been dicey. Thank heavens the Enterprise was still in dry dock. She had needed Beverly Crusher's help.
Kellec's request had come in a few hours before. It was less than Starfleet had hoped for. They wanted to send in a large team to study the problem, perhaps work on Bajor. They wanted to use it so that they could gather more information on both the Bajorans and the Cardassians, as well as find a solution to this plague.
But some Cardassian official had anticipated this. The restrictions were severe. Pulaski wasn't sure she could do the work with only a handful of assistants. At first Starfleet wanted her to wait until they could get four specialists in plagues and alien diseases to go with her, but it would take days for the specialists to arrive from their various posts. She didn't have days. That was the one thing Kellec had made very clear.
He wasn't sure he would survive this. The Cardassian doctor who was looking over his shoulder as Kellec contacted Pulaski didn't look very confident either. The information she had gotten from them, purposely sketchy, was awful. They did give her the death rate on their space station, and it was climbing by the hour.
She played the message for Starfleet Medical. Then she asked that Beverly Crusher accompany her, as well as the three other ranking medical officers currently on Deep Space Five.
Starfleet Medical turned her down. This was a risky mission, they said. They didn't dare send that many valued officers.
Meaning they could sacrifice researchers but military medical staff was in short supply.
Meaning there was a good chance Pulaski and her team might not come back.
Starfleet Medical was going to try to negotiate with the Cardassians-after all, they reasoned, this was a medical emergency, and working together could benefit everyone-but Pulaski knew that wouldn't work. She had asked Crusher to come with her to argue for the high-ranking personnel, which hadn't worked. But Crusher had argued against negotiation, and on this Starfleet Medical had listened to their former director. They decided-and the Federation representatives agreed-to let Pulaski go in with lower-ranking assistants.
The next argument was about whether to bring in sophisticated equipment that would help send information back-not medical information, but information on the Cardassians and the Bajorans. Crusher had proved her worth here too, arguing that such equipment would jeopardize the lives of those being sent it.
"This is a mission of mercy," she had said. "We need to treat it like one. If Dr. Pulaski and her colleagues gain information on the Cardassians and Bajorans as a result, they can be debriefed when they return."
If they return. The last sticking point had been travel arrangements. They were going to use the Cardassians' plans to get them to Terok Nor, the space station that Kellec was on, but Pulaski had no idea how they would be able to leave. She was supposed to contact the Federation from Terok Nor when she was ready to go, but she had a hunch that sounded too easy. And what if she wanted to leave and they didn't want her to? They had to have a failsafe for this, and so far no one had suggested one that seemed workable.
Pulaski finished the last of her packing. Amazing how she could bring her life down to two little suitcases-one a sophisticated medical kit with everything she hoped she would need. The other contained basics like clothing and Kellec's favorite-hot chocolate. He couldn't get it anymore on Bajor.
She closed the case just as someone hit the chime outside her door. "Come in,"
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