23 Equinox by Diane Carey

Author:Diane Carey [Carey, Diane]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: General, Fiction, Science Fiction, Space Opera, Adventure
ISBN: 9780743453882
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Published: 2002-12-06T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER

8

"WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN TO us?"

Maria Gilmore's question didn't exactly take Commander Chakotay by surprise, though he hadn't come up with an answer for something he expected to be asked.

"That's up to Captain Janeway," he said, shoving the responsibility over the wall. "You'll be confined to quarters until we find a way to make peace with these life forms you've been killing. If it's not too late."

Gilmore was anxious as they hurried down the corridor, with a security guard, fully armed with a phaser rifle, clomping behind them. Knowing she was technically in custody, her mood was tense and troubled, yet carried a certain flow of relief. For Chakotay, the guard was just added protection, but not against Gilmore.

'To be honest," she said, "I'm glad you stopped us. Living the rest of our lives knowing what we'd done..."

"You could've stopped yourself. Why didn't you?"

"I don't know ... when the captain ordered me to modify the warp core, I concentrated on the work. I tried not to think about how it was going to be used."

"Well, think about it now. Because we need your help."

He stopped at the door of the astrometrics lab-not her quarters, and not the brig.

"Commander?" She blinked, perplexed.

"After you."

In the lab, Seven of Nine was working at a console, and even her posture of aplomb was suffering from the frustration. On the domescreen, a graphic display showed the Equinox warp core and the weird modifications that had been made to it.

"We're having trouble making sense of all this," Chakotay told Gilmore.

"The schematics are encrypted," Seven pushed in. "I can't access them."

Chakotay kept looking at Gilmore. "Do you know the encryption codes?"

She hesitated. Her hands pressed to her thighs in a kind of resistance.

"Your captain's been relieved of command," Chakotay clarified. "You take orders from me now. Do you have the codes?"

With a blink as if awakening, she said, "Yes."

Seven stepped back from the console. "Proceed."

Gilmore did as ordered, though obviously she was uncertain and torn, her loyalties, training, and instincts all clashing.

Moving to her, Chakotay shifted from commanding officer to shipmate for a moment. "Think of it this way, Ensign. You might live with yourself a little easier."

While she worked, Gilmore's breathing was hollow and ragged as she fed the codes into the computer, then cleared the double-secured access authorization, using both her personal identification and Ransom's. That was a deep encryption, to need two IDs.

The guard was waiting for her at the door. As she turned, she flinched at the sight of him.

Turning to Seven one last time before incarceration, Gilmore sadly told her, "You said you wanted to learn more about humanity. But I guess we're not exactly prized examples. I'm sorry ..."

"On the contrary," Seven returned edgily, "you've taught me a great deal."

Unsettled by that, Gilmore simply went out in front of Chakotay and the guard.

Feeling guilty that none of these major and haunting decisions were his, Chakotay caught up with her and set the pace a little slower. As he watched Gilmore at his side, he was thinking of Kathryn.

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