Strange New Worlds III by Paula M. Block

Author:Paula M. Block
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pocket Books/Star Trek

STAR TREK

DEEP SPACE NINE®

[SECOND PRIZE]

Ninety-three Hours

Kim Sheard

Hour Two (1200)

Ezri Tigan awoke to the beeping of a vital signs monitor. She was uncomfortable flat on her back on the biobed, but didn’t want to move yet. Through the thin membrane of her closed eyelids, she could tell that the sickbay lights had been dimmed for her benefit. Still without opening her eyes, she cautiously analyzed her mind and body. Her brain, groggy from the lingering effects of the anesthetic, worked slowly, but she was surprised and relieved to note that her thoughts were completely her own. Perhaps the surgery had been called off.

Moving on to her physical condition, she noted that her mouth was dry and she was thirsty from being denied water in preparation for surgery. The left side of her neck itched, like an insect had bitten her there. But those were minor irritations. With trepidation, she took a deep breath, expanding from the diaphragm, and felt the difference. Yes, it had been done. Without looking or touching she was aware of the slight bulge below her navel and the unfamiliar pressure on her bladder from the unwanted invader. The skin covering her abdomen felt tight and pinched. With dread, she decided it would be best to confront her situation and to ask for a status report.

Dr. Fulghum came noiselessly to her side when her eyes blinked open. “The surgery went well, Ensign. There were no complications, and the symbiont will be fine now.” Ezri squelched her resentment toward this man for convincing her to accept the symbiont. She knew its predicament had not been his fault, but she couldn’t help thinking that he was using her as nothing more than an intelligent incubator. She turned her stiff neck to look at him as he pulled a short, wheeled stool to her bedside and sat.

Her hands moved automatically to her belly, which was covered by a Starfleet standard issue surgical gown. Designed to fit everyone, she had always thought, and to look good on no one. “I can feel its body,” she said, “but not its thoughts.”

“The symbiont was so weak and you so unprepared for joining that I have been inhibiting your isoboramine level. I’m allowing it to rise gradually. You should begin to feel the neural link shortly.” His voice was gentle and quiet in the darkened room. He was trying to be kind, Ezri realized. She wondered if he felt any guilt for what he had done.

Ezri finally scratched her neck, discovering that it was the isoboramine controller that had been pinching her. “Can you keep my neurotransmitter level low so that I don’t have to sense the symbiont? After all, I’m not going to keep it.”

The doctor took a deep breath, as if to delay revealing unpleasant news. “We’re not certain that we will be able to reach a new host within the ninety-three hours before you and the symbiont become biologically interdependent. The ship coming from Trill was delayed answering a distress call. They’ve resumed course for the Destiny, but they may have been delayed too long.

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