“Sir?”
Bashir had walked up to him. Vaughn pulled his eyes away from Ruriko’s pale visage and refocused on the doctor.
“Her condition remains stable. Using records from our database on the previous attempts to reverse Borg assimilation, we’ve neutralized the most dangerous elements of the Borg technology, but we’ve had to leave intact the ones that are keeping what’s left of her body alive.” Bashir paused to allow a reaction from Vaughn. He offered none, so Bashir pressed on. “Something else you should understand, sir: the extent of her assimilation is far greater than anything we have on record. It’s possible that in time, we’ll be able to restore her human appearance, but she’ll never be able to survive without extensive biomechanical help.”
“What about brain activity?” Vaughn asked.
“There’s some, but it’s difficult to be precise, because of the Borg modifications. As best I can determine, she’s in a coma. But it’s impossible to know how much damage she endured after spending two years on minimal life support. I’ll know more after we’ve returned to the Alpha Quadrant, where the proper facilities can be utilized to—”
“No,” Vaughn interrupted. “You’ll do the work here.”
From the corner of his eye, Vaughn could see that Sam had turned suddenly in his direction. He’d overheard them.
Bashir hesitated. “Sir, please try to understand. I’ve done all that I can safely attempt to do for her under the present circumstances. Defiant’s medical bay simply isn’t equipped to handle a case like this. Certainly not without replicators. The degree of mutilation alone—”
“We’re not leaving orbit, Doctor,” Vaughn said. “I’m not putting Deep Space 9, Bajor, or anyone else in the Alpha Quadrant at risk of exposure to Borg technology until I know it’s safe to do so. And only after her mind has been restored.”
“I don’t know that I can do that.”
Vaughn’s eyes narrowed. “Well, you’re going to try.”
Bashir met Vaughn’s challenging stare and held it. “All right,” he said quietly. “But I want to be clear that this is against my medical judgment. And I fully intend to enter it into my log that your orders are putting this woman’s life and the safety of the crew at risk.”
“You’re certainly at liberty to—” Vaughn began, but was interrupted by the worst sound he could imagine.
“Mom…?”
Vaughn spun around. Prynn stood there, in the open door of the medbay, staring in mute disbelief at Ruriko’s still-standing form across the room.
“Get out,” Vaughn snarled, moving to block Prynn’s view as he marched toward the door. “Get out of here now!”
“But, Dad—”
“Now!”Vaughn shouted, forcing his daughter into the corridor. “Mr. Bowers, confine Ensign Tenmei to quarters.”
“Sir?” Bowers said.
“Do it, Lieutenant.”
Bowers hesitated, but finally came out to usher Prynn along, who stared at her father in disbelief. “C’mon, Prynn,” Sam said gently. “Let’s go.”
Mouth agape, Prynn shook her head uncomprehendingly at Vaughn as he retreated into the medical bay and sealed the door behind him.
“I think he’s losing it,” Sam told Dax sometime later, alone with her in the captain’s ready room.
Dax frowned as she listened to Bowers’s report from behind Vaughn’s desk. News about the crashed ships on the surface, the discovery of the surviving drone and its identity, as well as Vaughn’s confinement of Prynn had spread throughout the ship. “He’s got to be under a lot of strain, Sam,” Dax said.
Bowers nodded. “I’m not disputing that, Ezri. I can’t begin to imagine what he must be going through right now. But you didn’t see him down on the planet, or in the medical bay. He’s lost his perspective. He’s made it personal.”
“What do you expect?” Dax asked. “Ruriko Tenmei is the mother of his only child. To find her transformed into a Borg drone, after believing she was dead for seven years—”
“This is about more than Commander Tenmei,”Bowers said, raising his voice. “We’ve discovered evidence of a Borg incursion into the Gamma Quadrant. Our first priority is to report it to Starfleet. But Vaughn’s even suspended transmissions to the station.”
“This incursion is over two years old. We’ve never encountered any evidence of Borg contacts in the Gamma Quadrant before this. It may be an isolated incident. The delay of a few more days or even weeks isn’t going to make—”
“Lieutenant,” Bowers said, “this is the Borg we’re talking about. We don’t know what the hell they were doing, or when they might return to finish the job. And judging by the fact that the wrecks down on that planet went untouched until we found them, it’s a safe bet the Dominion never found out that one of their ships encountered a Borg vessel. I don’t know about you, but I for one don’t ever want to have to face a Jem’Hadar drone. And God help us all if they ever manage to assimilate a Founder. We need to do something about this now.”
Dax was silent. She knew Sam was right. And as ship’s first officer, the responsibility of addressing the situation fell to her. “All right,” she said. “I’ll talk to him.”
Bowers sighed and nodded.
“How’s Prynn?” Dax asked.
“Mad as hell,” Bowers said. “Not just at her father, either. She’s pretty pissed at me for refusing to tell her anything, and for confining her to her cabin.”
“I’ll deal with that, too. Anything else?”
Bowers shook his head.
“Take the bridge,” Dax said. “I’ll relieve you as soon as I can.”
Bowers nodded and left.
“Computer,” she said when he was gone. “Locate Commander Vaughn.”
“Commander Vaughn is in his quarters.”
Dax sat back and sighed, wishing she knew what she would say to him.
10
“Have you questioned him yet?”Asarem wanted to know.
Seated around the wardroom table and facing the viewscreen with Lenaris, Ro, and Ambassador Gandres, Akaar listened with his brow knotted in turmoil. Gard’s capture, while a major step in solving the mystery of why Shakaar was assassinated, had raised a whole new set of questions…questions he almost feared to learn the answers to.
“He’s not cooperating,” Ro said, responding to the first minister’s question. “He’s obviously been trained to resist interrogation. He might even be resistant to the standard truth drugs. Unfortunately, we can’t even try those in his present condition without killing him.”
“The injuries he sustained were life-threatening, First Minister,” Lenaris elaborated. “Dr. Tarses was able to stabilize him, but he reports that Gard will require several days to recover before he can be released. He is currently confined to the isolation ward in the station’s infirmary, under guard.”
“But if you have the assassin alive, there aboard the station,”the first minister said, “then what is theGryphon chasing?”
Akaar and Lenaris exchanged a look before the admiral replied, “We do not yet know, First Minister. Perhaps Gard’s accomplice. If so, Gryphon’s mission would be essentially unchanged. It was my intention to have Gard interrogated again before updating Captain Mello and Colonel Kira.”
Asarem frowned. “And can you explain the isolation suit, Admiral? Can you, Ambassador?”
Akaar shook his head. “Not conclusively,” he said. “Not yet, at any rate. Starfleet uses isolation suits for the express purpose of conducting covert cultural observations of prewarp societies. But the technology is closely guarded. I have contacted Starfleet Command to see what they can learn.”