Read Online Vectors by Dean Wesley Smith, Kristine Kathryn Rusch - Free Book Online Page B

she said.
    The door slid open and a woman entered. She was human-all of the team was, a precaution that Kellec had mentioned and Starfleet Medical had agreed with. She had blondish brown hair and compassionate eyes. She wore street clothes, just as she had been ordered to do. They were flowing garments of a gauze-like material, in a pale blue that became her fair skin.
    "You must be Crystal Marvig," Pulaski said. "Welcome."
    "Thank you," Marvig said. She glanced around the quarters, her gaze falling on the books. "I didn't know you collected real books."
    "I don't," Pulaski said. "But each of these is personal to me, in its own way."
    "I love books," Marrvig said. "Particularly twentieth-century literature-you know the kind. The stuff that predicts the future."
    Pulaski laughed. "I've seen it. It's amazing what they believed would happen."
    "And how right they could be," Marvig said. She clasped her hands behind her back. The military posture didn't go with her relaxed attire.
    "You've been briefed on this mission, I assume," Pulaski said.
    "They told me it was a need-to-know."
    Pulaski cursed under her breath. She had wanted her assistants to know what they were getting into. "And what did Starfleet Medical believe you need to know?"
    "That this is a highly sensitive mission, and that it's quite dangerous."
    "Brief and vague," Pulaski said. "How like them." She sighed. "Let's wait until Ensign Governo gets here, and then I'll brief you both."
    "Edgar Governo? He's been assigned to this as well?" Marvig asked.
    Pulaski nodded. "Do you know him?"
    "We've been serving together here on Deep Space Five. He's never been on an away mission."
    "Well, this is more complicated than an away mission," Pulaski said. "I trust they told you to pack lightly."
    "And to keep suspicious items from my single piece of luggage, whatever that means."
    Pulaski recited a list of items she believed could cause them problems on Terok Nor. Marvig shook her head at each item. As Pulaski was finishing, the door chime rang again. "Come in," she said.
    Ensign Governo entered. He was a thin young man with dark hair and intense eyes. He wore his regulation boots beneath black pants, and over a cotton T-shirt he wore a leather jacket. The effect was retro, and more stylish than Pulaski had expected. Seeing Starfleet personnel out of uniform was always a surprise.
    She had met Governo just after her conference with Starfleet Medical. He was younger than she had would have thought from his record. He had an amazing gift for understanding alien physiology; it had gained him awards and accolades at medical school, and he had graduated at about the same time as Marvig, who was older.
    Governo had a small bag slung over his shoulder. "I'm ready when you are, Doctor." Then, before she could respond, he saw Marvig standing near the books. "Crystal!"
    "Edgar." She smiled. It was a warm smile, just the kind a patient needed to see. Pulaski was glad to see it too. Compassion and empathy were probably lacking at Terok Nor. "It looks like we're going on an adventure." "Yes," Pulaski said, "you are." "Only the three of us?"
    "No. Alyssa Ogawa will join us on the Enterprise. She's one of the best nurses in the fleet, and I'm pleased to have her. She'll outrank both of you, and I want you to listen to her."
    The two of them nodded. "Were you briefed at all?" Pulaski asked Governo.
    "I was told that this mission would be difficult and dangerous," he said, "and that if I had any qualms about working with infectious disease, I could back out now without a black mark on my record." "That's more than I was offered," Marvig said.
    "Well, I'm offering you more," Pulaski said. "I want you to know exactly what you're getting into."
    She explained the situation to them, including the rules the Cardassians placed on their visit. She als0 explained the danger, the difficulties they would have on a station owned by a people who were not affiliated with the Federation, and the Federation's