Station Rage by Diane Carey

Author:Diane Carey [Carey, Diane]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Published: 2012-07-13T17:38:13+00:00

"I said for both of you to stand by."

Sisko's tone was that of almost cheerful defiance. He hovered over a set of readouts that had held his attention since the cloud flooded engineering.

Kira watching him, drenched in shock, and finally spun to Dax and flagged her arms desperately. What's he doing?

Pushing back from her console, Dax stood up and with fluid motion abandoned her control center. "We don't have any choice. We certainly can't swallow that much radiation, and we can't defend the station if we're dead."

"Thirty seconds to fail-safe … Implement emergency evacuation immediately …"

Feeling her legs tingle with sudden resolution, Kira stared at him, held her breath, and tried again. "Sir, it'll be all right. I've been pushed back before."

The carpeted deck was uncomforting beneath her as she came to stand beside Dax, so the automatic transporter sensors wouldn't have any trouble finding her. Didn't make any sense, but she didn't care. Machines could break and she didn't want to be in the middle of one when it did.

"Fifteen seconds to fail-safe …"

Dax again placed her hand over the transporter trigger. "Ready, Benjamin."

Energize. Energize. Energize. Well? Energize!

Kira stepped away from Dax, toward Sisko. "Sir?"

He had pressed forward over the command center, his large hands spread like the feet of a giant hawk, his neck knotted and his eyes canted to one side.

"Ten seconds …"

Kira clenched her teeth.

Behind her, Dax abridged, "Benjamin?"

They both moved toward him.

"Five seconds to fail-safe …"

Kira drew a long breath. "Sir!"

Pushing to his full height, Sisko set his jaw and waited. There was nothing left to do. The decision had been made and there was barely time to unmake it. They were either cannily calling a bluff or they were trapped here, to await contamination and a slow and gory death by radiation poisoning.

Four, three, two …

And he had made his decision for all the Starfleet personnel still left on the station—they were trapped with him if he was wrong.

Holding her breath for the last tick, Kira was swatted with the full impact of command authority, of Sisko's having made that decision and of his having the absolute right to make it for all of them. She had made decisions like that all her life, but only for herself.

"One … Fail-safe."

Ops fell silent, but for the soft whirrs of the computer systems working, and the occasional croak of a compromised system trying to get itself back online.

On the screen, the orange mange flooded the inner core of the station all the way to the top—to Ops. The picture looked like a spindle, but now with bright tangerine wool around it.

Quietly Dax said, "It's here."

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