Star Trek® Day of Honor by Diane Carey

Author:Diane Carey
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pocket Books
Published: 1997-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

Kes looked at the Doctor. “Now?” she asked.

“Now,” he confirmed.

They were standing on either side of the biobed, where their patient still lay sleeping. There was no evidence of her injuries, no sign of the burns that had covered a good part of her body.

Pressing the control padds on the bed, the Ocampa eliminated the electromagnetic field that had protected the woman since her arrival in sick bay. Then she cut off the flow of sedatives into the patient’s blood and introduced a mild stimulant, no more powerful than smelling salts, to bring her out of her medicated sleep.

A moment later, the woman opened her eyes. Kes saw they were a startling shade of blue. For several seconds, they drifted in and out of focus. Then they seemed to lock onto the Doctor’s face.

“Who … who are you?” she asked.

“I have no name,” the Doctor explained, “unusual as that may seem. However, I do have a description. I am the emergency medical program for the starship Voyager. This physical manifestation you see is only a hologram, which allows me to interact with sentient organisms—much as I am doing now.”

Their patient’s brow creased down the middle. “I … see,” she said tentatively. She turned to Kes. “And are you a hologram as well?”

The Ocampa smiled and shook her head. “No, I’m a flesh-and-blood organism, just as you are.”

Kes resisted using the word “real” to distinguish between herself and the Doctor, since she considered him every bit as real as she was. After all, he was capable of independent thought, even feelings. The only significant difference was his lack of biological functions.

“How are you feeling?” she asked the woman.

Their patient seemed to take stock of herself for a moment. “Well,” she concluded. “Very well.” The crease in her brow deepened. “But on the ship, I was exposed—”

“To a significant amount of radiation from your damaged engine core,” the Doctor noted. “Fortunately, we were able to counteract the effects of the exposure. As you can see, there will be no permanent scarring.”

The woman nodded. “I’m grateful.” Tentatively, she sat up. Examining her arms and legs, she began to smile. “You’ve performed a miracle.”

The Doctor shrugged. “All in a day’s work,” he told her. Then, without another word, he retreated to his office.

Their patient watched him go for a second, then turned to Kes. “My name is Pacria,” she said. “Pacria Ertinia.”

“Kes,” the Ocampa replied. “Good to meet you. Though, of course, I wish it were under better circumstances.” She frowned. “We weren’t able to save the others on your ship.”

Pacria’s expression became one of regret. “We ran into a subspace anomaly. Never knew what hit us.”

Abruptly, the Doctor emerged from his office with a hypospray in his hands and held it against the woman’s arm. “This won’t hurt,” he said reassuringly. “And more importantly, it’ll save your life.”

Pacria pulled her arm away. “What do you mean?” she asked.

“I’m introducing a vaccine to cure you of your disease.” The Doctor explained where he had gotten it.

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