The Genesis Wave 03: Book Three by John Vornholt

Author:John Vornholt
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Science-Fiction:Star Trek
ISBN: 9780743463836
Publisher: Pocket Books
Published: 2003-01-28T10:00:00+00:00

thirteen

“Let us in!” demanded Jerit. The Romulan shook his fist at the guards atop the watchtower at the west gate of Dinky’s Dry Dock. “You know who we are.”

“Sorry,” said the Bajoran, craning his neck to look back at the center of the yard. “There’s a big crowd at the clubhouse, and the guards have been tripled.” He finally nodded to his partner. “Open it.”

As the two Romulans passed through the pedestrian door, the guard leaned over the railing and whispered, “Like I told your buddies, I want you out of here.”

They kept walking, feeling the urgency of their situation. “Our buddies?” asked the young Romulan.

Jerit glanced at the brightly lit landing pads, buildings, and shuttlecraft. Nothing seemed amiss, except for the number of slow-moving guards. He whispered, “We’ve got to assume that people will be watching us, so we get in and take off.”

“We don’t wait for Lanik?” asked the young Romulan with innocent shock.

“No.”

“He might be in the clubhouse-“

“We’re not chancing a roomful of strangers-I’m surprised we’ve gotten this far,” Jerit said testily. “Maybe he’s on board already.” They took a walkway branching off from the main path and were finally able to see the runabout in the distance. It seemed like an oasis of calm, but Jerit knew that was an illusion. If somebody wanted to stop them from taking off, they had better do it right now.

As they approached, the youth got out his tricorder and did a scan of the vessel. His impassive face broke into a brief smile. “You were right. One Rotnulan on board.”

“Finally … we find him in the last place to look,” grumbled Jerit, although he felt considerable relief. Maybe Lanik didn’t retreat according to the book, but returning to the vessel was an understandable reaction.

His subordinate entered a code on a handheld device, and the hatch whooshed open a second before they reached it. Almost skipping with joy, the two Romulans ducked into the small starship. At the copilot’s seat sat their third member, who didn’t rise to greet them; his back remained turned toward them.

“Good, you’re already plotting a course,” said Jerit, stripping off his body armor. “Save your explanations for now, because I don’t want to know why you disobeyed orders. Just start the launch sequence and notify the tower.”

The comrade nodded, and Jerit and the youth put on their flight suits. Suddenly the air in the cabin seemed stuffy, and he couldn’t breathe without difficulty. Grasping his collar, the leader staggered a few steps before he forgot why he was concerned. He just wanted to lie down and take a nap … a good long nap. Jerit’s legs finally turned to rags, and he collapsed face-first onto the deck, just centimeters away from the copilot’s seat. His youthful associate lay at his feet, unconscious.

Lanik turned in his seat to look down at Jerit, only it wasn’t Lanik, but a stranger. The squad leader blinked helplessly, trying to focus on the smiling face … trying to figure out why he didn’t recognize him, when he should.

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