Chapter Nine
«
Burnel ! » Sutter rushed to the civilian navigator as
she crumpled to the floor.
Stevenson
had grabbed the life-support field belt and the rifle from the doctor, who was
pointing it at Wilkins' head.
Burnel
was unconscious, lying near the cylinder containing the killer virus. Burnel
had been hit by the phaser blast from the doctor's rifle. Sutter didn't know
where she had been hit but it didn't matter.
She
grabbed the other woman and lunged out the door, away from the holographic
projector's interference. She tapped her combadge
when they were far away enough from the complex : «
Sutter to Valiant. Emergency transport to sickbay !
»
Just
as the transporter beam seized them, Sutter saw the damage that the phaser
blast had caused.
Burnel's
eyes opened slowly. She let out a sigh and then she heard a familiar voice.
«
Burnel ! Are you okay ? » It
was Stevenson.
She
saw the ceiling of sickbay, and the face of doctor Tarses smiling
: « Glad to have you back, miss Burnel. »
She
tried to sit up, but she was too exhausted.
«
We've completed the surgery. » Tarses said. « You should be fine. »
Surgery ? she thought.
Then
she remembered. She jumped next to the canister filled with the virus. There
were two phaser blasts and she lost consciousness.
«
What surgery ? » she asked.
Tarses
opened his mouth, then closed it again.
«
What ? » she grunted. « Did you have to pull out my
nose or something ? »
«
No. » he smiled. Then he put out his hand, as if he wanted her to shake it.
She
stared at him strangely then took his hand.
Except
it wasn't her hand holding his.
It
was a bionic hand.
« Excellent work. » Rear-Admiral Patrickson's
face smiled on the viewscreen of the Valiant's bridge. « You did a
great job. Have all the biohazardive materials been
taken on board ?
»
«
Yes, sir. » said Sutter.
«
Perfect. Great Job. You will bring these canisters
to Starbase 138. We'll pick'em'up. Oh yes ! We also have a communication from admiral Nechayev. She has placed you, Team 1, on active duty in
command of the USS-Valiant. »
«
Active duty ? » Kline asked.
«
Yes. Now, you're whole crew will be given a rank. And you will pretend to be
part of the fleet until you are needed for more covert operations »
«
So starting from now, we're like a real Starfleet ship with real Starfleet
protocols. Until you call us. »
«
Precisely » said Patrickson « And commander Kline. You are now the official commanding officer
of the Valiant. Commander Sutter, you are the first officer. Commander
Eskina, you are the new Ops officer. You will be recieving
you're new officer to replace Eskina in the cryptology station soon. »
«
But I can also run the cryptology station ! » Eskina
protested. « Even if I'm at Ops. »
«
Well, it's always good to have more than one cryptologist on board. » Patrickson smiled and gave a quick good bye before signing
off.
Eskina
sighed : « Two cryptologists... »
«
It's okay, Gregory. » said Kline. « I'm sure you could
use some company in your little office. »
«
Whatever... »
The
doors of the turbolift opened. Stevenson and Tarses stepped out, followed by
Burnel. The navigator was flexing her mettalic
fingers.
«
The installment of her
new bionic hand went without a problem. » said Tarses. « We'll be able to cover
it up with a layer of synthetic skin in a few hours. »
«
No. » Burnel said, surprising the doctor. « I want to keep it like this. »
«
But... » Tarses frowned. « We can make your hand look real again. »
«
Exactly... » she said. « I don't want to hide what I am. I want to leave it
like this. »
Tarses
shrugged : « It's your choice. »
She
smiled : « Thanks, doctor. »
He
nodded and stepped back into the turbolift with a slight frown on his forehead.
Burnel
walked to her station and started to move her hands over the console, the
motions were smooth enough. She seemed satisfied.
«
Okay, miss Burnel. Please set course for Starbase 138. Warp four. » Kline
ordered.
«
Course set. » she said.
He
nodded : « Activate engines. »
And
the Valiant warped out into the darkness of space.
In his bureau, sitting comfortably in his chair. The
dark-haired man studied the information rolling down his screen.
Valiant...Starfleet
Intelligence...Commander Kline...etc...etc...
A smile appeared on his face, this was a perfect oppurtunity.
The Team 1 of Starfleet Intelligence had not been working for a while, let
alone placed on active duty.
The
dark-haired man stood up and strolled to the replicator, he ordered split-pea
soup, and as the dish materialized, a new idea appeared in his head, an idea so
brilliant that he wouldn't have believed in it if someone else had found it
out.
His
smile grew larger.
Team
1...you are mine...
THE END
Agelshaxe 2003
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Trek and all related names are copyright to
Star
Trek S:I Book 2 Total Annihilation is the property of Agelshaxe Planet