Star trek: Duty, Honor, Redemption by Vonda McIntyre

Author:Vonda McIntyre [McIntyre, Vonda]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pocket Books
Published: 2004-06-29T22:00:00+00:00

Leonard McCoy strode down the crowded street. His body felt like someone else’s. He could smell the pungent scent of eight different volatile recreational drugs. He was familiar with them all, of course: he was, after all, a doctor. But he should not be able to sort them out so efficiently from the surrounding smells of the dirty street, the fog, the rain, incense and warm oil from one establishment, raw meat from another. He could hear more clearly than usual. He listened to five simultaneous conversations, one in Standard, two in more traditional Earth languages, and two—no, that was a single conversation being carried out in two different dialects of the same offworld tongue.

He arrived at the meeting place. He paused before its brightly lit come-hither sign. He could feel the colors of the neon script illuminating his face with another dozen different languages, evenly divided between Earth and other worlds. He rubbed the scratchy stubble on his jaw. There was something else he was supposed to be doing, something Jim had told him to do. Oh. Right. Jim had told him to shave and put on more beard repressor. Was this as important? He remembered what it was he was doing. It definitely was more important than shaving.

But is it the right thing? he wondered. There’s still time to turn back, go to the nearest hospital, confess to being stark raving mad, and make them lock me up before I get violent.

He reached into his pocket, but it was empty. He had forgotten his tranquilizers. He shrugged. They had not been doing him much good anyway.

He plunged into the tavern.

The noise, the smoke, the appalling scent of sizzling meat assaulted him. He staggered and only managed to keep from falling by grabbing onto the nearest person. She turned, ready to fight, then looked at him more closely and laughed.

“Honey, you look like you’re having a tough time of it,” she said. She supported him easily. She was half a head taller than he. Her heavy, curly black hair spread around her head and down her back. She wore the black leather pants and jacket favored by independent couriers, with the jacket fastened only at the bottom and nothing beneath it. The skin of her throat and the inner curves of her breasts looked like warm sable. She was black on black on black, except her eyes, which were a piercing pale blue. He stared up at her and fell in love with her instantly. Only that saved him from abandoning his appointment and asking her for the help he needed. He did not want to drag anyone he loved into the trouble he was heading for.

“I’m…I’m all right,” he said. He drew himself up straighter. He still had some dignity.

She kept a steadying hand on his elbow. “Sure?”

“Yes,” he said. “Yes, thank you.”

“Okay.” She let him go.

Somehow he kept his feet and continued farther into the bar. A tiny plane whizzed past his face. Startled, he stepped back and nearly fell.

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