Turn the Page by Dayton Ward

Author:Dayton Ward [Ward, Dayton]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Amazon: B000OVLKOK
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Published: 2012-07-13T17:35:06+00:00

§ § §

Earth Year 2377

Location: U.S.S. da Vinci

Gold flinched.

“Captain, are you all right?”

Looking up at the sound of the voice, Gold realized that Corsi was still standing before him, her expression one of worry. He blinked several times to force the intruding memories back to their proper place at the back of his mind.

“I’m fine,” he said, knowing even as the words came out that they sounded harsher than he had intended. Irritated with himself for the lapse, he glanced around the transporter room, noting that Sarjenka was still examining the lifeless body of Jannim. The telltale whine of her medical tricorder echoed off the transporter alcove’s low ceiling and curved bulkhead. With Lense consumed by her feverish efforts to save the life of the grievously injured Banks, it fell to her new assistant to carry out this morbid yet necessary task.

Stepping closer to the transporter pad and folding his arms across his chest, Gold knew that Corsi was still watching him, and he forced himself to recall the report she had just provided and that he now realized he had only partially heard.

“She killed herself?” he asked.

With her hands clasped behind her back as she offered her report to the captain, Corsi nodded. “Yes, sir. Soloman tells me that she activated a burst data transfer using a personal computer interface she was wearing on her wrist. It triggered what he’s calling a failsafe protocol that each implant is fitted with.”

“Found it,” Sarjenka said, her tricorder emitting an animated series of beeps as if to punctuate her statement. Holding up the device, she added, “What’s left of it, anyway. It’s at the base of her skull, where you’d expect to find it, but there’s not much left, I’m afraid.”

Frowning, Gold asked, “A self-destruct?”

“That’s what it looks like, sir,” the young doctor replied. “I’ll have to examine these readings more thoroughly, but it looks as though the implant activated a microburst explosion that severed the brain from the spinal cord. Death was instantaneous.” Listening to the report and observations, Gold shuddered as he envisioned the gruesome, albeit swift, end that had claimed the mysterious Lisqual woman.

From where he stood next to the transporter console, Minister Qrana said, “It was a protocol devised in the event of a catastrophic loss of control over the reformant community, Captain. A signal was to be transmitted to each mediator that would induce an overload and destroy the device.” The minister had beamed aboard the da Vinci at Gold’s request, invited to see Jannim’s body and perhaps make an identification.

Indicating Jannim’s body with a nod, Qrana added, “For obvious reasons, it was always a solution we were loath to use, due to the risk of death or irreparable damage to the brain at the very least. Still, there is some good to come out of this. Now that she is dead, the protests will no longer continue, and life can once again return to normal.”

“With all due respect, Minister,” Corsi said, “I don’t think it’s going to be that easy.

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