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STAR TREK VOYAGER: HER KLINGON SOULBY MICHAEL JAN FRIEDMANSynopsis:Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres stopped and pounded her fist ... against the cold stone barrier in front of her. She couldn't expect any help from the ship. For all intents and purposes, she was on her own. Gritting her teeth, B'Elanna pushed away from the cave wall and fired in the direction of her adversaries. As her ruby-red beam lanced out, she heard a grunt and saw one soldier slump to the ground. A lucky shot. At least it seemed so at first. Then a whole bunch of them came roaring into the cave, scalding the air with a wild barrage of seething blue energy. Suddenly the shot didn't seem so lucky anymore.* * *HER SHIFT OVER BY A GOOD twenty MINUTES, CHIEF Engineer B'Elanna Torres exited engineering and headed for the ship's mess hall. As she had hoped, the predictable change-of-shift traffic was over. There was no one in the corridor but her.So far, so good. If she kept to herself, she imagined, she would get through the day with a minimum amount of agony."Lieutenant?" said a voice from behind her.Oh, no, she thought. Reluctantly, she turned to look back over her shoulder.It was Paisner from stellar cartography. He was smiling in his beard at her, smiling as warmly as she'd ever seen him smile."Happy-""Yeah," she said, "thanks."And before he could finish his greeting, B'Elanna ducked down an intersecting corridor. Nor did she turn around until she was sure she'd left Paisner behind.Unfortunately, as she approached a turbolift on her left, its doors opened and a couple of her fellow officers came out. One was Trexis, a stocky Bajoran who'd been with her in the Maquis. The other was Morganstern, an attractive redhead who ran the bio lab."Lieutenant," said Trexis. "A brave-""Right," B'Elanna interjected. "Uh-huh. See you later."And she accelerated her pace, passing the two of them before they could say anything else. Again, the engineer found another corridor and took it.She cursed inwardly. This was harder than she'd believed it would be.Coming to another turbolift, B'Elanna ducked inside it. "Mess hall," she said, slumping against the side panel. But just as the doors were about to close, someone slipped inside with her.It was Wu, who worked with her in engineering. He was obviously pleased to see her."Lieutenant," he said as the doors closed."Mister Wu," she responded, looking at the ceiling and not her colleague. She could feel the slight vibration that meant the lift compartment was moving."I didn't think I was going to see you today," he told her. "But since I have, allow me to wish you-""Hang on," she interrupted. Turning to him, she asked, "Why aren't you in engineering?"Wu looked at her, surprised. "It's my day off."B'Elanna eyed him. "Are you sure about that? I could've sworn I saw your name on the duty roster."He thought about it for a moment. "I don't see how that could be. I distinctly recall-"Suddenly, the doors opened. "Now that you mention it," the lieutenant remarked, "it is your day off. My mistake." And she exited the lift before Wu could say another word.Turning left, she set her sights on the double doors of the mess hall. She was almost home free, she told herself. If she sat by herself and grimaced enough, she could eat and get out without meeting any more wellwishers.Then, just as she was about to enter, the doors opened and a half-dozen of her crewmates spilled out. She sought a way around them, but there wasn't any-not unless she wanted to bowl them over."Lieutenant Torres," said one of them."Just the woman I wanted to see," said another."After all," said a third one, "it is your day, isn't it?"B'Elanna wanted to crawl into an EPS conduit and die.As First Officer Chakotay entered Voyager's brightly lit mess hall, he wasn't looking for B'Elanna Torres.Chakotay had no reason to be looking for her at that particular moment. After all, everything was running smoothly in the ship's engineering section, and there weren't any emergencies elsewhere on Voyager that required B'Elanna's special expertise.Still, it was difficult not to pick out the lieutenant in the midst of all the other uniformed personnel in the room. After all, she was half-human, half-Klingon. That made her rather noticeable-the only one of her kind on the entire starship. Indeed, the only one of her kind in the entire Delta Quadrant.But what made her even more noticeable was the fact she was sitting all by herself. The ship's engineer had sequestered herself in a corner of the mess hall, facing one of the observation ports, her back to the entrance and therefore to him as well.Alone.Though the first officer couldn't see her face, he couldn't imagine she was very happy right now. People usually didn't seclude themselves when their hearts were bursting with joy.As her commanding officer in their days with the Maquis, Chakotay had known B'Elanna to be moody on occasion, even volatile. She had never resented his company, however, not even when she was at her worst. In fact, she had always welcomed it.He hoped she would welcome it now. And beyond that, that she would let him help her with whatever was on her mind. It was tough enough to be a lifetime's journey away from home, but to make that journey by oneself was too great a burden for anyone.Crossing the lounge, he headed for B'Elanna's table. But before he could get halfway there, someone else beat him to it.It was Neelix, the ship's Talaxian chef and semiofficial "morale officer," carrying a large metal pot with a flat bottom. No doubt it held another of hisstrange and exotic concoctions, thrown together from whatever planetary flora Voyager's foraging parties could supply him with.But something was different here, Chakotay told himself. Usually, Neelix served up his creations with undiluted eagerness. Right now, that eagerness was tempered with a certain ...Revulsion."Here you go," said the Talaxian, forcing a smile.B'Elanna looked up at him, then at his pot. Clearly, she had no idea what Neelix was talking about."Here I go with what?" she asked."A mdlange of traditional Klingon dishes," said the Talaxian, failing to suppress a shudder as he placed the pot on the table. "Serpent worms, heart of targ, and rokeg blood pie. All fresh from the replicator, no less. I'll just leave it here on the table, and you can . . ." He grimaced. pick it over at your leisure."The lieutenant seemed surprised as she surveyed the contents of the pot. As he approached, Chakotay could see them as well.Not being a connoisseur of Klingon cuisine, he had only a vague idea of what Neelix had come up with. One part of the pot held what looked like a mess of snakes, another some kind of internal organ.None of it was cooked. Even Chakotay knew that Klingon delicacies were generally served raw-and whenever possible, still alive. Not up my alley, he thought. Even sushi made him a little queasy.B'Elanna gazed at Neelix, perplexed. "You used your replicator rations to make these?" she asked.He nodded proudly. "I sure did. But I felt it was something I had to do. After all, I've made plomeek soup for Mister Tuvok and pineapple pizza for the Devlin twins, but I've never attempted anything Klingon before. Then I got wind of this wonderful holiday of yours and . . ." He shrugged. "I couldn't resist. Bon appetit, Lieutenant." He leaned a little closer to her. "That means knock your socks off in French."B'Elanna shook her head. "I can't eat this," she said. She pushed the pot away from her.The Talaxian was mortified. "I ... I don't understand," he replied after a moment. "I did extensive research on your cultural background. I could have sworn this was the way I was supposed to present these dishes."The engineer got to her feet. "It's not the presentation," she said, her tone cold and blunt. "I don't eat Klingon food. In case you haven't noticed, I'm not your run-of-the-mill Klingon."And with that, she stalked off, leaving Neelix and the pot behind. The Talaxian looked to Chakotay, who was the nearest person around."I didn't mean to offend her," Neelix explained, clearly at a loss. He watched B'Elanna's departure with genuine disappointment. "I knew she hadn't eaten these things before, but I thought it was because they weren't available. I didn't have any idea she would-"The first officer put a hand on the Talaxian's shoulder. "It's all right," he said. "Your heart was in the right place."Neelix glanced at the writhing, pulsating contents of the pot and sighed. "So was the targ's. But it didn't seem to make a difference."Chakotay frowned. He didn't approve of B'Elanna's behavior. No matter what was bothering her, she had no right to take it out on the cook.As the engineer exited the mess hall, Chakotay made his decision. "Excuse me," he said, and went after her.Ensign Harry Kim glanced at his shuttle's instrument panel. On the monitor to his right, he could see the asteroid belt as his sensors saw it-a series of green blips, each a different size and configuration.There was a path through the blip field, but not an easy one. In fact, it was kind of torturous. And at warp seven, it looked virtually impossible to maneuver through."You can do it," said his copilot.Kim glanced at Tom Paris, who was sitting beside ... [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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STAR TREK VOYAGER: HER KLINGON SOULBY MICHAEL JAN FRIEDMANSynopsis:Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres stopped and pounded her fist ... against the cold stone barrier in front of her. She couldn't expect any help from the ship. For all intents and purposes, she was on her own. Gritting her teeth, B'Elanna pushed away from the cave wall and fired in the direction of her adversaries. As her ruby-red beam lanced out, she heard a grunt and saw one soldier slump to the ground. A lucky shot. At least it seemed so at first. Then a whole bunch of them came roaring into the cave, scalding the air with a wild barrage of seething blue energy. Suddenly the shot didn't seem so lucky anymore.* * *HER SHIFT OVER BY A GOOD twenty MINUTES, CHIEF Engineer B'Elanna Torres exited engineering and headed for the ship's mess hall. As she had hoped, the predictable change-of-shift traffic was over. There was no one in the corridor but her.So far, so good. If she kept to herself, she imagined, she would get through the day with a minimum amount of agony."Lieutenant?" said a voice from behind her.Oh, no, she thought. Reluctantly, she turned to look back over her shoulder.It was Paisner from stellar cartography. He was smiling in his beard at her, smiling as warmly as she'd ever seen him smile."Happy-""Yeah," she said, "thanks."And before he could finish his greeting, B'Elanna ducked down an intersecting corridor. Nor did she turn around until she was sure she'd left Paisner behind.Unfortunately, as she approached a turbolift on her left, its doors opened and a couple of her fellow officers came out. One was Trexis, a stocky Bajoran who'd been with her in the Maquis. The other was Morganstern, an attractive redhead who ran the bio lab."Lieutenant," said Trexis. "A brave-""Right," B'Elanna interjected. "Uh-huh. See you later."And she accelerated her pace, passing the two of them before they could say anything else. Again, the engineer found another corridor and took it.She cursed inwardly. This was harder than she'd believed it would be.Coming to another turbolift, B'Elanna ducked inside it. "Mess hall," she said, slumping against the side panel. But just as the doors were about to close, someone slipped inside with her.It was Wu, who worked with her in engineering. He was obviously pleased to see her."Lieutenant," he said as the doors closed."Mister Wu," she responded, looking at the ceiling and not her colleague. She could feel the slight vibration that meant the lift compartment was moving."I didn't think I was going to see you today," he told her. "But since I have, allow me to wish you-""Hang on," she interrupted. Turning to him, she asked, "Why aren't you in engineering?"Wu looked at her, surprised. "It's my day off."B'Elanna eyed him. "Are you sure about that? I could've sworn I saw your name on the duty roster."He thought about it for a moment. "I don't see how that could be. I distinctly recall-"Suddenly, the doors opened. "Now that you mention it," the lieutenant remarked, "it is your day off. My mistake." And she exited the lift before Wu could say another word.Turning left, she set her sights on the double doors of the mess hall. She was almost home free, she told herself. If she sat by herself and grimaced enough, she could eat and get out without meeting any more wellwishers.Then, just as she was about to enter, the doors opened and a half-dozen of her crewmates spilled out. She sought a way around them, but there wasn't any-not unless she wanted to bowl them over."Lieutenant Torres," said one of them."Just the woman I wanted to see," said another."After all," said a third one, "it is your day, isn't it?"B'Elanna wanted to crawl into an EPS conduit and die.As First Officer Chakotay entered Voyager's brightly lit mess hall, he wasn't looking for B'Elanna Torres.Chakotay had no reason to be looking for her at that particular moment. After all, everything was running smoothly in the ship's engineering section, and there weren't any emergencies elsewhere on Voyager that required B'Elanna's special expertise.Still, it was difficult not to pick out the lieutenant in the midst of all the other uniformed personnel in the room. After all, she was half-human, half-Klingon. That made her rather noticeable-the only one of her kind on the entire starship. Indeed, the only one of her kind in the entire Delta Quadrant.But what made her even more noticeable was the fact she was sitting all by herself. The ship's engineer had sequestered herself in a corner of the mess hall, facing one of the observation ports, her back to the entrance and therefore to him as well.Alone.Though the first officer couldn't see her face, he couldn't imagine she was very happy right now. People usually didn't seclude themselves when their hearts were bursting with joy.As her commanding officer in their days with the Maquis, Chakotay had known B'Elanna to be moody on occasion, even volatile. She had never resented his company, however, not even when she was at her worst. In fact, she had always welcomed it.He hoped she would welcome it now. And beyond that, that she would let him help her with whatever was on her mind. It was tough enough to be a lifetime's journey away from home, but to make that journey by oneself was too great a burden for anyone.Crossing the lounge, he headed for B'Elanna's table. But before he could get halfway there, someone else beat him to it.It was Neelix, the ship's Talaxian chef and semiofficial "morale officer," carrying a large metal pot with a flat bottom. No doubt it held another of hisstrange and exotic concoctions, thrown together from whatever planetary flora Voyager's foraging parties could supply him with.But something was different here, Chakotay told himself. Usually, Neelix served up his creations with undiluted eagerness. Right now, that eagerness was tempered with a certain ...Revulsion."Here you go," said the Talaxian, forcing a smile.B'Elanna looked up at him, then at his pot. Clearly, she had no idea what Neelix was talking about."Here I go with what?" she asked."A mdlange of traditional Klingon dishes," said the Talaxian, failing to suppress a shudder as he placed the pot on the table. "Serpent worms, heart of targ, and rokeg blood pie. All fresh from the replicator, no less. I'll just leave it here on the table, and you can . . ." He grimaced. pick it over at your leisure."The lieutenant seemed surprised as she surveyed the contents of the pot. As he approached, Chakotay could see them as well.Not being a connoisseur of Klingon cuisine, he had only a vague idea of what Neelix had come up with. One part of the pot held what looked like a mess of snakes, another some kind of internal organ.None of it was cooked. Even Chakotay knew that Klingon delicacies were generally served raw-and whenever possible, still alive. Not up my alley, he thought. Even sushi made him a little queasy.B'Elanna gazed at Neelix, perplexed. "You used your replicator rations to make these?" she asked.He nodded proudly. "I sure did. But I felt it was something I had to do. After all, I've made plomeek soup for Mister Tuvok and pineapple pizza for the Devlin twins, but I've never attempted anything Klingon before. Then I got wind of this wonderful holiday of yours and . . ." He shrugged. "I couldn't resist. Bon appetit, Lieutenant." He leaned a little closer to her. "That means knock your socks off in French."B'Elanna shook her head. "I can't eat this," she said. She pushed the pot away from her.The Talaxian was mortified. "I ... I don't understand," he replied after a moment. "I did extensive research on your cultural background. I could have sworn this was the way I was supposed to present these dishes."The engineer got to her feet. "It's not the presentation," she said, her tone cold and blunt. "I don't eat Klingon food. In case you haven't noticed, I'm not your run-of-the-mill Klingon."And with that, she stalked off, leaving Neelix and the pot behind. The Talaxian looked to Chakotay, who was the nearest person around."I didn't mean to offend her," Neelix explained, clearly at a loss. He watched B'Elanna's departure with genuine disappointment. "I knew she hadn't eaten these things before, but I thought it was because they weren't available. I didn't have any idea she would-"The first officer put a hand on the Talaxian's shoulder. "It's all right," he said. "Your heart was in the right place."Neelix glanced at the writhing, pulsating contents of the pot and sighed. "So was the targ's. But it didn't seem to make a difference."Chakotay frowned. He didn't approve of B'Elanna's behavior. No matter what was bothering her, she had no right to take it out on the cook.As the engineer exited the mess hall, Chakotay made his decision. "Excuse me," he said, and went after her.Ensign Harry Kim glanced at his shuttle's instrument panel. On the monitor to his right, he could see the asteroid belt as his sensors saw it-a series of green blips, each a different size and configuration.There was a path through the blip field, but not an easy one. In fact, it was kind of torturous. And at warp seven, it looked virtually impossible to maneuver through."You can do it," said his copilot.Kim glanced at Tom Paris, who was sitting beside ... [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]