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It was a typical day on the NSEA Protector. Commander Taggart was sitting in his chair, going over reports on his TABLIT while Laredo guided the ship toward Targathia. Dr. Lazarus was in the staff meeting room with the ambassador from Zatchzxy, discussing the upcoming peace negotiations with the Targathians. Lt. Tawny Madison wouldn’t have minded helping Dr. Lazarus — the ambassador had honey-blond hair and a cute butt! — but Dr. Lazarus had said that he “didn’t require any assistance,” so Tawny was relaxing at her station. She loved these long trips through the emptier parts of the galaxy. There wasn’t much for her to do, so she had time to catch up on her favorite book or listen to some music on her headphones. Right now, she was listening to Supertramp, which was her favorite band, even though they were pretty old — a couple hundred years old!
Suddenly, Commander Taggart stood up like his chair had just zapped him with a jolt of electricity! He dropped the TABLIT on the floor and fell back into his chair, unconscious! Tawny pulled off her headphones and looked around the command deck. All of the crew were slumped over at their stations, even Laredo. No one was steering the ship!
“Warning!” came the voice of the ship’s computer. “There are intruders on levels 4 and 8.”
“Intruders on levels 4 and 8!?!” exclaimed Tawny. “Computer, can you identify the intruders?”
“They are of the Mank’Nar race.”
“There are Mank’Nar warriors on the Protector! How many? What’s their location?”
“Seven,” said the computer. “Three of the Mank’Nar are moving toward Engineering, and four of them are nearing the command deck.”
“Three heading to engineering and four coming here,” said Tawny. “Computer, can you contact Tech Sgt. Chen?” she asked.
“Working,” replied the computer. “Tech Sgt. Chen is in the engineering room, but he does not answer.”
“Chen’s at his post but he’s not answering? Why not?”
“My sensors indicate that Tech Sgt. Chen is unconscious, as is the entire crew, with the exception of you, Lt. Madison.”
“Everyone’s unconscious but me!?!”
“Every other member of the crew is unconscious,” corrected the computer. “The Mank’Nar are conscious, as is the Zatchzxian ambassador.”
“Okay, so Ambassador b’NaDiik and I are awake,” said Tawny. She bit her lower lip in thought. It didn’t take a genius (and good thing, since the resident genius was also out cold) to figure out that the Mank’Nar were attempting to sabotage the peace talks between Zatchzxy and Targathia. For decades, the two planets had been at each others’ throats, and the Mank’Nar had taken advantage of the chaos to raid pretty much any planet they pleased in that quadrant. If the Zatchzxians and the Targathians set aside their differences, they would be able to use their vast armadas to keep the peace. The Mank’Nar hated peace.
First things first, thought Tawny.
“Computer,” she said aloud as she went to Laredo’s station. “Stop the ship.”
“Confirmation from Lt. Laredo required.”
“Of course you need confirmation,” muttered Tawny. Unfortunately, the navigation screen could read fingerprints and only Laredo would be allowed to use it unless a higher-ranking officer gave the command to transfer control of the ship to someone else, and for SOME reason, she was the same rank as the 9-year-old pilot. However, Laredo himself could also transfer the controls in case he needed to use the bathroom or something. She picked up Laredo’s limp hand and wrapped her own hand around it, holding down all of his fingers except the pointer which she used to key in his authorization code. Luckily, he had told her once that it was the same as his Zarni Fuzzoid’s birthday. He must have forgotten that she was the one who had given him the creature in the first place. She could hear the pitch of the engine sound change as the ship stopped moving.
Just then, the door slid open. The Mank’Nar were on the command deck!
“Stop!” shouted the first warrior off the lift. “Move away from the console!” He indicated the direction that he wanted her to go with his phase rifle. Tawny stepped aside. The second Mank’Nar came out of the lift, and moved down to Laredo’s console, his own phase rifle aimed at Tawny the whole time.
The third Mank’Nar was followed closely by the fourth, who stayed a step behind and to the left of the third. Tawny had dealt with enough Mank’Nar to know that the fourth one must be a body guard to the third one. That meant the third one was in charge.
“Who are you?” demanded the third.
“I’m Lt. Tawny Madison of the NSEA Protector. That’s all that I’m at liberty to say.”
“And how have you escaped the effects of our Sonic Trance Emitter, Lieutenant?” he asked. “The sound pulse that we fired at your ship should put all Humans who hear it into a coma. We even made sure to configure it so that it would get your Mak’Tar doctor as well.”
Thank you, Supertramp, thought Tawny. Out loud, she said, “I guess your doo-hickey doesn’t work too well. You should have it checked.”
“Oh, don’t you worry, Lieutenant,” growled the general. “I will. In the meanwhile, why are we no longer moving?”
Tawny opened her mouth to make another smart-assed remark, but the Mank’Nar near Laredo’s console spoke first.
“The last command that the ship’s computer received was to halt progress toward Targathia and hold the current position until it receives the proper authorization to move,” he said, fiddling with a device that he had placed over Laredo’s console.
Tawny suppressed a smile. Good old computer! It always understood what she needed perfectly. If she ever met a man who listened half as well, she’d probably marry him on the spot!
“Well, give it a new order then!” yelled the general. “We can’t attack Targathia from here! And if we don’t attack, their little peace treaty will put an end to this war. I don’t have to explain the consequences to you, do I?”
“You’ll never get away with that!” shouted Tawny. “Targathia will destroy the Protector, and when they examine the debris, they’ll find Mank’Nar remains. They’ll know it was you all along!”
“Oh, I have no plans to be on this ship when it attacks, Lieutenant. That’s what THAT device is for.” He pointed at the second Mank’Nar, who was busy poking buttons on the thing he had placed over Laredo’s console. “It’s an Electronic Override Apparatus, or EOA for short. It can pilot this ship and use its weapons systems. Once we’ve successfully attached it, the EOA is programmed to fly the Protector to Targathia and attack. We’ll be long gone by that time. Although, I really wish I could stay and watch the Protector and its crew being blown to space dust. I imagine that Commander Taggart here will not be remembered too fondly either, but that’s just a bonus.” He reached out and shoved Taggart to the floor!
The door opened again, and another Mank’Nar warrior stepped onto the command deck. “We’ve swept the ship, General. The Zatchzxian ambassador is awake, but the entire crew is unconscious. Mo’og is taking the ambassador to their brig right now.”
“An excellent idea,” said the general. “Once we have the EOA in place, we’ll take Lt. Madison there too.”
“I’ve just about got it… There! I’m in, General,” said the button-poker.
“It’s about time! Get the lieutenant. I want to get back to our own ship. These Earth ships stink of Humans.”
It’s better than smelling like a Mank’Nar, thought Tawny.
Button-Poker grabbed Tawny’s upper arm and pulled her roughly to the command deck door. Once in the corridor, one of the Mank’Nar turned and blasted the control panel with his phase rifle. So much for getting back in that way!
They continued down to the brig, Button-Poker yanking Tawny along the whole way. Once there, he shoved her unceremoniously into one of the cells, causing her to trip and fall right into the arms of the ambassador. Well, that was embarrassing! Tawny turned her head and saw the Mank’Nar bring up the force field that formed the fourth wall of the cell.
“Have a pleasant journey!” laughed the general. He turned and signaled his warriors to follow him. In the doorway, he turned back again and grinned evilly at Tawny and the ambassador. “Give my regards to Targathia! Not that you have a choice!” His maniacal laughter echoed in the corridor until the door slid shut.
She felt the ambassador gently set her upright again and decided that she should probably take her cheek off his broad, muscular chest even though she didn’t really want to!
“Lt. Madison!” said the handsome Zatchzxian. “It is nice to see you again, although I wish that the circumstances were better.”
“I feel exactly the same way,” said Tawny. “It seems we’re the only two people on the ship who aren’t passed out.” She pointed to a crewman who appeared to be napping at the monitoring station for the brig.
“How did you come to be free of the effects of the sonic trance emitter?” asked b’Na’Diik.
“I had my headphones on, listening to music. We don’t usually encounter much chatter over the ultraspace channels in these sparsely populated sectors, so I listen to something to keep from getting bored. I fixed it so that any transmissions we receive directly will interrupt what I’m listening to, of course, so I don’t miss anything. How are you awake?”
“Different frequencies of sound affect different species… well, differently. They used a frequency that would only work on a Human or a Mak’Tar. I’m afraid that the Mank’Nar are attempting to sabotage the peace talks.”
“I’m afraid you’re right,” replied Tawny. She filled him in on the conversation that had just taken place on the command deck.
“We must find a way to stop them, but what can we do from a cell in the brig?” he asked.
“I’m not sure how we’ll get to that EOA thing,” said Tawny, “but I can do something about our unlawful incarceration. Computer, have the Mank’Nar left?”
“There are no members of that species currently aboard the Protector,” replied the computer.
“Cool, they’re gone. Computer, lower the force field on cell three on my authorization.”
The force field disappeared.
“That’s a nice skill to have,” said b’Na’Diik.
“As long as the force field wasn’t authorized by someone who outranks me, I can order it to be lowered. And since I definitely outrank a Mank’Nar warrior…”
“… down it comes. I see. Well, since you’ve so graciously rescued me, I feel that we can dispense with the formalities, Lieutenant. Please, call me Drrk.”
“Only if you call me Tawny,” she replied, maybe just a little flirtatiously.
“I would be honored, Tawny.” Drrk’s smile may have been just a little flirtatious too.
Well, this was pleasant, but they weren’t out of the woods yet. Tawny tore her light brown eyes from Drrk’s dark blue ones. It was time to get down to business.
“Computer,” she said, “How long until we reach Targathia?”
“At its current speed, the Protector will arrive in the Targathian System in 1 hour and 38 minutes,” replied the computer.
“Just a little over an hour and a half.” Tawny bit her lip. It wasn’t much time.
“Let’s see if we can pry the door to the command deck open,” said Tawny.
“It’s worth a try,” agreed Drrk.
They stopped off in Engineering before going up to the command deck. Chen was lying on his side near the main console. Tawny gave him a shake, but she didn’t really expect him to wake up. Words like “trance emitter” and “coma” made her suspect that it would take more than the smell of coffee and bacon to rouse the crew.
“Help me take him over to that side console,” she said. “He keeps his tools under it.”
Drrk lifted Chen easily, then laid him gently next to the console on the other side of the room. Tawny bit her lip. Strength and kindness were a sexy combination. She gave her head a little shake and promised herself that she would pursue that thought more thoroughly once they were no longer in danger. For now, she picked up Chen’s hand and slapped it against the glowing panel beneath the console. The door slid back, revealing the neat row of tools Chen kept there. Tawny quickly located the pry bar and removed it.
“Rather primitive, isn’t it?” asked Drrk.
“Chen’s too much of a professional to allow sticky doors on the Protector,” said Tawny. “But even he can’t prevent the ship from being damaged in a fight. Circuits get overloaded, sometimes trapping crew behind malfunctioning doors. Then it’s a good old pry bar to the rescue. Sometimes old-fashioned methods are best. I just hope it works on the door to the command deck. That one has special reinforcements.”
They hurried up to the command deck, but the door was a no-go. Drrk tried to pry it open for several minutes, but it wouldn’t budge. From the way that he had lifted Chen, Tawny knew that Drrk had to be much stronger than a Human. If he couldn’t get the door open through brute force, there was no way she’d manage it. They would have to think of another plan. Tawny scowled at the floor in concentration.
Suddenly, she noticed Drrk looking her. He appeared to be mesmerized by her mouth.
“You’re staring,” she said, but she was smiling when she said it.
“It’s just that you bite your lip when you’re thinking,” he said, “and it’s…”
“It’s what?” As is if she didn’t know, but she wanted to hear him say it.
“It’s very… tempting,” he said. “I feel sorry for that poor abused lip. I’d like to kiss it and make it better.”
“Well, your offer is very… tempting,” she replied, “but I hardly think now is the time to be worrying about my mouth and what it might need… in the way of medical attention, I mean.”
“Of course,” he said.
They were grinning stupidly at each other when Tawny remembered the protocol for dealing with an inaccessible primary command deck.
“The secondary command deck!” she exclaimed.
“The what?” asked Drrk.
“The secondary command deck! Sometimes we need to separate this part of the ship from the main ship. When we do that, the main ship is controlled from the secondary command deck. We might be able to override the override device from there. Come on!”
Tawny grabbed Drrk’s hand and led him quickly through the labyrinth of corridors to the secondary command deck. They had already used up 20 minutes.
When they got to the secondary command deck, they found an ensign sprawled across the floor. Drrk picked her up and laid her in an out-of-the-way corner as easily as he had moved Chen. Tawny began starting up the stations on the deck. Whenever these systems were started, the ship’s computer ran a quick diagnostic on them to make sure that they were running correctly, and she could feel the vibration they made as they came on.
“Whoa…”
“What is it?” asked Drrk.
“What’s what?” asked Tawny.
“Didn’t you just say ‘whoa?’ I thought that was an Earth expression of surprise.”
“I didn’t say anything,” said Tawny.
“Wha’s goin’ on? Ow, my head!”
Tawny and Drrk both turned toward the corner where he had left the ensign, and saw her struggling to sit up! They rushed to her side and helped her get propped up against the wall.
“Are you alright, Ensign?” Tawny asked her.
“I’m fine, but the room is acting weird,” she replied.
“What do you remember?” asked Drrk.
“Tech Sgt. Chen sent me here to check on a possible malfunction in the plasma/anti-plasma exchange unit. I had just entered the room when every muscle in my body seemed to tense up. The next thing I know, I was waking up here.”
“Maybe the effects of the trance emitter are wearing off?” asked Drrk.
Tawny went to the door and looked down the corridor. She could see the crew members they had passed on the way here still lying there.
“They’re still out,” she said crouching once more next to Drrk and the ensign. “Computer, has anyone else woken up?” she asked.
“Sensors indicate that Ensign Larsen is the only crew member to have regained consciousness,” said the computer.
“Larsen’s the only one, so whatever happened, happened in here,” said Tawny.
“Maybe it was that humming noise that came from the console when you started the machines. After all, it was a sound that triggered their unconscious state in the first place.” said Drrk.
“What humming noise?” asked Tawny.
“You didn’t hear it? It was quite loud.”
Tawny caught herself before she bit her lip again. “I can feel a vibration when the computers in the consoles send their self-diagnostics to the main computer. Now that I think about it, Dr. Lazarus has complained in the past about the ship making noises that only he can hear. Something about the frequencies being too high or low for Humans to detect.”
“This was a high-pitched whine,” said Drrk. “It might be the ‘antidote,’ so to speak. The trance emitter made a very low sound.”
“Do you think you could make a sound at the same frequency?”
Drrk shook his head. “I’m sure my vocal chords don’t stretch that far.”
“Maybe we’ll think of something,” said Tawny. “For right now though, we need to see if we can get the ship under control.”
She stood up, went to the helm and started punching in commands.
“Damn!” she exclaimed.
Drrk came to her side. “Now I KNOW that Earth expression. Things aren’t going well,” he said.
“I transferred control of the ship from Laredo to me before the Mank’Nar showed up, but it’s not responding.” She swiped and pushed and cursed a little more. “It’s no use,” she said, defeated. Another 20 minutes had passed. They had less than an hour now.
“If only we could wake up Taggart or Laredo,” said Tawny. “That thing is just sitting there on Laredo’s console. A kitten could push it off.”
“Do we have any of these ‘kit-tens?’" asked Drrk.
Tawny chuckled. “No, and even if we did, we have no way of getting it onto the command deck. The access crawlways leading to it are blocked with force fields, and Chen’s the only one who can override them. Even if we dragged him through the half a kilometer of crawlways between engineering and command, we’d need more than his palm print, and I don’t know his passcode.”
“So we’re back to trying to rouse the others,” said Drrk. “Which means replicating the sound of these systems booting up. Do you have anything that can create tones outside the range of Human hearing?”
Tawny thought about it. Dr. Lazarus could hear things that Humans couldn’t. He had complained about the ship’s noises and that Humans couldn’t really appreciate Mak’Tar music since they couldn’t hear all of the notes… “The armonomin!” she exclaimed.
“The what?” asked Drrk.
“The Mak’Tar armonomin! Dr. Lazarus has one and it makes notes that only he can hear! He let me play it once.”
“Where is it?”
“In his quarters.”
“Which we can’t get into without his palm print?”
“Yeah, sorry about that. He’s going to be very heavy — his bones and muscles are more dense than a Human’s.”
“I’ll manage,” said Drrk, smiling.
“I’m sure you will,” said Tawny, smiling back. She turned to the ensign. “Will you be okay, Larsen?”
“Yes. I’m not woozy anymore, and I’m starting to feel stronger.”
“Good,” said Tawny. “Hopefully everyone will recover quickly.” She turned to Drrk. “Is Dr. Lazarus still in the meeting room?”
“That’s where he was the last time I saw him,” affirmed Drrk.
“Well, at least that’s close to his quarters,” said Tawny. “Let’s go.” They had 40 minutes left.
When they got to the meeting room, they found Dr. Lazarus sitting in one of the chairs, his torso sprawled across the table. Drrk got him into a fireman’s carry, and they headed back down the corridor. Dr. Lazarus’s quarters were only five doors down from the meeting room. Once they got there, Tawny used his hand to activate the door. It slid open, and Drrk carried him inside.
“Where’s the doctor’s bed?” asked Drrk, staring around at the apparently empty room.
“Oh,” said Tawny. “You’d better lay him on the floor. His bed is a little weird, and if I remember correctly, he needs to meditate for twenty minutes before using it or it’ll kill him.”
“Okay,” said Drrk, and he laid Dr. Lazarus carefully on the floor.
Tawny pressed a button on the left-hand wall. A panel slid up, revealing a contraption about the size of an old-fashioned keyboard synthesizer. The table it rested on had a series of buttons, dials, and switches, and there were 3 foot pedals on the floor underneath. There was also a small bench for the musician to sit on. The instrument itself was a long, undulating piece of dichromatic glass in shifting shades of green and lavender. It looked like a thick leg for a giant’s coffee table, thicker on the left side than on the right. Tawny flipped one of the switches, and the glass began to rotate. She turned a dial, and it spun faster and faster until it started giving off a green glow that seemed to spit pink and gold sparks.
“Okay,” she said. “Tell me when you think I’ve got it right.” She thrust her right hand into the green glow over the narrow end of the spinning glass. An other-worldly hum filled the room. It got louder as she moved her hand closer to the glass. She moved her hand farther to the right, and the sound grew higher and higher in pitch until Tawny could no longer hear it. Drrk could, though, and he evidently didn’t enjoy the experience. He winced.
“Just a little higher,” he said loudly, as if speaking over something noisy.
She moved her hand a fraction to the right.
“For Ipthar’s sake, Lt. Madison, don’t break it.”
Tawny took her hand away from the armonomin and turned at the deep, warm sound of her friend’s voice. “Good morning, Dr. Lazarus,” she said with a grin.
He nodded at her with a great deal of dignity for a man lying flat on the floor. Drrk bent and helped him into a sitting position.
“If I were capable of metabolizing alcohol, I’d assume that I have a terrible hangover,” said Dr. Lazarus.
“You were hit with a pulse from a sonic trance emitter,” said Drrk. “Weakness and vertigo seem to be common side effects.”
“I see,” said Dr. Lazarus. “I congratulate you on discovering a way to reverse the main effect. Are we the only ones who are conscious at this time?”
“Us and an ensign we left on the secondary command deck,” said Tawny. “I thought I could broadcast the wake-up tone through the ship over the intercom.”
“An excellent plan, Lieutenant. Give me a few minutes and I should be recuperated enough to be of assistance.”
“We don’t have many minutes left, Doctor,” said Tawny. “Computer, how long before we reach Targathia?”
“We will arrive at that destination in 32.8 minutes,” replied the computer.
“We have about half an hour to remove a device from Laredo’s console or the Protector will open fire on Targathia,” said Tawny.
“Speed is of the essence, I see,” said Dr. Lazarus. “Still, it won’t do to be too hasty. 600 incapacitated and confused crew members will have to be dealt with somehow. Brief me on the events that took place while I was unconscious, please. I should be ambulatory by the time you have finished.”
Tawny was surprised that he wasn’t ambulatory by the time HE finished, but she and Drrk quickly filled Dr. Lazarus in on the situation while the doctor performed a series of isometric exercises. By the time they were done, the doctor was, as he had promised, up and walking around, though still very weak.
“Let us proceed then,” he said.
“Computer, open every comm on the ship,” said Tawny.
“Communicators open,” said the computer.
“They’re open,” she told Dr. Lazarus.
Dr. Lazarus placed his hand near the spinning glass while touching one of the pedals with his foot. Tawny figured it must boost the volume from the that way Drrk winced and covered his ears. Dr. Lazarus gestured toward the door. Tawny peeked out and saw the crew members in the corridor stirring. She nodded at the doctor, and he removed his hand from the instrument.
“Attention crew,” said Dr. Lazarus. “The NSEA Protector has been attacked by a sonic weapon. The weakness and vertigo you are now experiencing is a normal reaction. Do not panic. Someone will assist you soon.” He nodded again at Tawny.
“Computer, close the channel,” she said.
Dr. Lazarus flipped a switch and the armonomin began to power down. He then went to the comm on his wall near the door and held down a button.
“Dr. Lazarus to the command deck. Can you hear me?”
Silence.
“Cmdr. Taggart, please respond.”
More silence.
“Peter, are you there?”
Dr. Lazarus and Tawny exchanged worried looks.
“Computer,” said Tawny. “Has everyone woken up?”
“Sensors indicate that the entire crew, with the exception of those on the command deck, are now conscious,” replied the computer.
“Everyone on the command deck is still out,” said Tawny, “but why?” She bit her lip, trying to remember the exact sequence of events. First she had seen Cmdr. Taggart nearly leap from his chair, then fall back into it. She had stood up, and felt a tug as the cord on her headphones pulled taut… “It’s my headphones. They’re still plugged in.”
“And when they’re plugged in, sound is routed to them instead of the intercom loudspeakers,” said Dr. Lazarus.
“Yeah,” said Tawny, ruefully.
“So, we’re going to have to find another way to get the sound to the command deck,” said Drrk.
“We could go through the crawlways,” said Tawny, “if we can find something that can make that particular frequency.”
“I’ve never seen what Tawny refers to as your crawlways, but I suspect that armonomin thing won’t fit,” said Drrk.
“It wouldn’t. It also weighs 312 kilograms,” said Dr. Lazarus.
“Yikes,” said Tawny.
“However, I do have a tone modulation analysis device.” Dr. Lazarus reached behind the armonomin and lifted into view a metal cube about the size of an Eonid box melon and covered in small squares. He set it on the bench and placed his hand on top of it. The squares lit up in bright colors.
“A what?” asked Tawny.
“You would call it a pitch pipe, Lieutenant,” said Dr. Lazarus. “It has other capabilities which I will be happy to expound upon at some other, less dire time, but for now, this will reproduce the necessary sound, and it only weighs 71 kilograms.”
“Only,” said Tawny. She smiled at Drrk. “How about a short tour of the crawlways, Ambassador?”
“I’d be delighted, Lieutenant,” replied Drrk.
Dr. Lazarus sighed impatiently. “This square will activate the correct tone.” He touched a pink square on the side of the device. “Touch it again to turn it off. This green rectangle controls the volume.” Once he had demonstrated that as well, he handed the cube to Drrk. “I will go to the secondary command deck and prepare to take control of the ship from there. We have 13 minutes remaining.”
“Come on,” said Tawny. They ran down the corridor, passing crew members who were now beginning to stir. Tawny led Drrk to a hatch near the command deck. She climbed the wall-mounted ladder up to the opening and crawled in. Drrk followed with the cube tucked under his arm.
“I can see why they’re called crawlways,” he said, as they made their way down the narrow space on all fours.
“They’re really air ducts,” said Tawny, glancing over her shoulder. “The engineering department started calling them that because they’re always using them to get to stuff that needs to be repaired.”
Tawny turned left at the intersection, and they continued down the crawlway for a few more meters before they came to a halt in front of the force field. Drrk squeezed up next to Tawny, scooting the cube in front of him.
“Here goes nothin’,” she said, touching the pink square. She slid her finger up the green rectangle to hopefully turn up the volume. From the way Drrk pursed his lips in the green light of the force-field, she was pretty sure it was working. She touched the pink square again to turn the device off.
“Cmdr. Taggart!” she shouted. “Peter! Can you hear me?”
“I hear you Tawny, but I don’t see you,” came a voice. “Also, I think someone dropped a box of quantum rocket detonators on me, not to mention that I have a wicked case of the room-zooms. What the hell’s going on?”
“I’d love to explain, Peter, but we have about 3 minutes before the Protector is going to start firing on Targathia! The Mank’Nar left some kind of override device on Laredo’s station! You’ve got to remove it. Dr. Lazarus is waiting on the secondary command deck to take control of the ship!”
“I see it!” shouted Taggart. “Laredo! Can you move? You need to knock that thing off your station!”
A soft moan was the only answer.
“He can’t move!” yelled Taggart. “He’s weak as a kitten! I’m trying to get over there. It was nice of the Mank’Nar to leave me on the floor! I don’t have to bother with getting out of my chair!”
“I thought a kit-ten was strong enough to remove the device,” said Drrk.
“It’s a Human thing. We tend to exaggerate when it comes to kittens.”
“We are now entering the Qor System. Inhabited planet — Targathia. Uninhabited planets — Peb, L’uqar, Do—”
“Qor System!” said Tawny. “Got it, Computer. How long until the Protector fires on Targathia?”
“Weapons systems are ready and will commence firing in 1 minutes 17 seconds,” said the computer.
“You’ve only got about a minute, Peter!” yelled Tawny.
“Somebody moved…[grunt] the pilot’s station…[ouch!] about 2 kilometers…[huff] away!” answered Taggart.
“Computer, start a countdown,” said Tawny. She knew Peter. He always performed better when he had a deadline.
“Weapons will deploy in 37 seconds. 36… 35… 34…”
Tawny could hear Taggart puffing and groaning as he dragged himself across the floor of the command deck.
“29… 28… 27…”
“I’m just… [grrr] about there!”
“17… 16… 15…”
There was a soft thud. “Sorry, Laredo,” said Taggart.
“8… 7… 6…”
“Okay, I’ve got hold of it!” yelled Taggart. “Ugh, it’s heavier than it looks!”
“5… 4… 3… 2…”
“GAHHH!” There was a louder thud followed by —
“Ship’s control transferred to the secondary command deck. Weapons are powering down.”
“You did it, Peter! Dr. Lazarus has control of the ship and he’s powered down the weapons!” yelled Tawny.
“Guh,” said Taggart.
“Are you okay?” shouted Tawny.
“I’m lying under about fifteen kilos of Mank’Nar technology. Their devices smell as bad as their ships!”
Tawny grinned.
“Dr. Lazarus was able to recuperate from the effects of the sonic pulse in about seven of your minutes,” said Drrk. “The Mak’Tar are well-known for their ability to heal quickly, but I don’t think it will take much longer than fifteen minutes for a Human.”
“Good to know, Ambassador,” said Taggart. “How are you enjoying your trip?” There was a crash that Tawny assumed was the EOA being shoved off Taggart’s chest and onto the floor.
“It has been most exciting, Commander,” said Drrk. He looked at Tawny, and said quietly. “But then I have exciting company.”
She smiled. “We make a good team.”
“Well, teammate,” said Drrk, drawing even closer to Tawny, which considering that they were already crammed next to each other in the air duct, was pretty close. “I think I promised you some first aid.”
“I could go for a little medical attention,” she agreed.
Drrk bent forward just enough to close the gap between them and brushed her lips tenderly with his own.
“How’s that?” he asked.
“I may need more intensive care,” she replied.
This time Drrk pressed his mouth more firmly to hers. When she felt his tongue flicker against her lip, she opened her mouth and let him slip inside. His tongue felt warm and slick against hers, and she felt a thrill that drove straight down her body when she heard him moan softly. She pulled back and smiled.
“You know,” she said, “now that the adrenaline is wearing off, I think I might be more injured than I knew.”
“Oh really?” asked Drrk.
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure this warrants at least an overnight stay.”
“Overnight? In an air duct?”
“No, silly! My quarters. I need bed rest.”
“Your bed would probably be the best place for… healing.”
“Yeah, and I think I’m injured in a lot of places that could benefit from your particular kind of therapy.”
Drrk smiled and kissed her again.
“The peace talks start tomorrow,” he said. “Until then, I would be happy to aid your recovery in any way I can.”