Nintendo Trek: Voyager
Chapter 4
Phage
Captain Kathryn Nabooru and Commander Fox McCloud were enjoying a leisurely morning stroll through the hallways of Voyager. The conversation turned to Sonic, their hedgehog-like Delta Quadrant guide.
"So, he knows where we can find some dilithium?" Fox asked. Dilithium was the substance that powered the ship. Unless they found some, they'd end up dead in the water.
"He knows of an asteroid that ought to have rich veins of it." Nabooru confirmed. "We've already set a course. Of course, there's still the problem of processing the stuff."
"Malon thinks she may have a way of doing just that." Fox replied.
"Yes, she brought her plan to me this morning. It never fails; whenever there's a problem, Malon seems to find the solution most at odds with Starfleet regulations. Its like she's deliberately challenging them." said Nabooru.
"A few years in the Maquis can do that to you."
The conversation turned to food. The replicators were still down, and until they were repaired, the crew would have to make do with vacuum-sealed oatmeal. No champagne and cheese on this starship. The two parted ways at Nabooru's private dining quarters, just after the captain finished describing her ideal breakfast. Smoke greeted Nabooru as she entered. Sonic had apparently converted her dining quarters into a mess hall, and was busy cooking up meals from the produce Saria was growing in the Hydroponics Bay. Unfortunately, the hedgehog didn't ask first, and Nabooru was a little flustered at the prospect. Poor Sonic didn't seem to understand why the captain was so angry. Nabooru spluttered, trying to find the words-she found it almost amusing in a way. Timing is everything, however, and they arrived at the asteroid before Nabooru could get really mad.
Sonic, Luigi, and Fox beamed down onto the asteroid in search of a place to start mining dilithium. Imagine their confusion when they found that, while the promise of dilithium was there, there was no actual dilithium. As Luigi and Fox pondered the inconsistency, Sonic wandered away from the group.and into the crosshairs of an ugly, brown-skinned alien with rotting flesh. It fired its weapon, letting loose a paralyzing sonic blast. By the time Luigi and Fox reached him, Sonic was flopping on the dirt, gasping for breath. The ugly alien had disappeared.
Fox tapped his combadge. "Three to beam directly to sickbay."
In sickbay, Dr. Light's holodoctor managed to stabilize Sonic temporarily.
"Well, what's the diagnosis?" Luigi asked. Doc shook his head.
"Mr. Sonic has about an hour to live. His lungs have been removed- they were actually transported out of his body. There's absolutely nothing I can do-he's the only one of his kind aboard, so we have no donor." Saria entered, and rushed to Sonic's side. She looked up at the Holodoc and asked what had happened. He repeated his explanation. Saria offered to donate one of her lungs.
"Won't work," Doc replied. "Your Kokiri lungs aren't compatible with Talaxian physiology."
"So he's going to die?" she asked.
"I didn't say that." Holodoc replied. "I believe I can make holographic replicas of his lungs. Sickbay, of course, has holographic emitters, so they should work just as well as the real things-as long as the program is running and Mr. Sonic remains on the biobed. We'd probably have to secure him. It's a temporary solution. Hopefully, we'd be able to find a donor or the stolen lungs soon." Saria considered the options, then agreed.
The surgery was a success, and Sonic awoke, alive and breathing, though practically unable to move. "You know, I've never noticed this before, but the Sickbay ceiling is really ugly," he said, after everything was explained to him.
"I'm a doctor, not an interior decorator," Doc snapped. Saria promised to take care of the décor. Link, meanwhile, was proving to be a less-than-worthy assistant in the Holodoc's visual processors. Doc spoke condescendingly to Link throughout the procedure. In fairness, Link was approaching his assignments with something less than vigor. Why, only Link knew. He was spared further verbal abuse by the doctor when the com beeped, summoning him to the bridge. He gave Saria an encouraging squeeze on the shoulder, then hurried out. This did not sit well with Sonic. He proclaimed that Link didn't have the common decency to wait for his corpse to cool before moving in. "Link's just a friend!" Saria protested.
"No, he's a walking hormone," Sonic replied. A brief and gentle argument ensued. Saria told Sonic that she loved him, and that she hadn't given up on him yet. Sonic grunted, only half believing.
Nabooru, Link, Luigi, Zelda and Fox beamed down to the asteroid in search of clues. They discovered an organ repository, and shortly after, the Ugly Dude who stole Sonic's lungs. He raised his weapon with a hiss, but Fox was quicker on the draw. He drew his phaser and blasted the gun out of the alien's hands. It retreated to its ship. They picked up and analyzed the gun. Very sophisticated. As far as they could tell, it was a medical scanner, stun gun, and organ transporter all wrapped into one.
The five beamed back to Voyager and took up the chase. After several hours, they followed the ship into an asteroid, and found themselves in a nightmarish Hall of Mirrors. Alien ships surrounded them. There was no way to tell which was real, and weapons fire was being rained down on them. Shields were dropping sharply. It looked hopeless. Nabooru glanced at Zelda.
"Now would be a good time for some clever suggestions," she said.
"If we fire phasers at a low intensity, they ought to continue bouncing until they hit something," Zelda replied.
"Do it," Nabooru said, standing with her hands on her hips. The Sheikah lowered the phaser intensity, and fired.
It bounced off the first mirror. Luigi gulped.
Another mirror. Link began to mouth a Hail Mary.
A third mirror. Shields were almost out. Everyone closed their eyes except Nabooru and Zelda.
BOOM! The phaser collided with the alien vessel. In minutes, she was disabled. The home-field advantage just isn't enough to beat Starfleet training, well-honed battlefield instinct, cunning, and a red-headed captain. They lock on and beam the aliens aboard.
In Sickbay, Sonic was struggling, despite nice curtains and ceiling decorations. You would be too, if you were strapped to a table 24/7, breathing through holographic lungs, and being treated by an irritable package of photons and force-fields. The poor hedgehog began to panic, demanding to be released-which would kill him. He began to hyperventilate, and the Doctor was forced to sedate him. Doc crumpled to a biobed, holding his head in his hands.
"What's wrong, Doctor?" Saria asked.
"This isn't what I was programmed for," he replied dejectedly. "Almost everything I've done so far has required some amount of improvisation. One of these days, I won't have the answer, and someone's going to die."
"Don't talk like that!" Saria scolded. "Who cured Malon and Luigi of the Deku Tree's disease? Who's the one who's kept Sonic alive, even without his lungs? Maybe you're going beyond your original programming. All that means is you have to expand your programming, expand your knowledge. Just because you're a hologram doesn't mean you can't learn like any creature of flesh- and-blood." Doc smiled at the young Kokiri girl.
Nabooru and Zelda rushed to the transporter room to meet the organ- snatchers. There were two of the, looking very disoriented. Nabooru stepped forward, keeping her phase rifle leveled with them the whole time.
"My name is Kathryn Nabooru of the Federation starship Voyager. Who are you, and why did you steal my crewman's lungs?" The taller alien, obviously the leader, gave a wry smile. He stepped off the transporter pad.
"By 'who are you,' I assume you mean my species, and not me in particular," he said. His voice was as scratchy as sandpaper. "My race is called the ReDead. We had another name once, but it has been lost to the sands of time. For centuries, we have been plagued by an terrible and incurable disease called the Phage. It destroys our bodies and organs from within. Even now, you see the effects on us. We were a great race once, but the Phage has destroyed us. We've been forced to resort to organ scavenging. We try to take only from the dead, but sometimes, emergencies arise. The Phage recently claimed my friends lungs. The Talaxian happened to be there, and.you know the rest."
"You mean, your friend is using Sonic's lungs? That to save Sonic, I'd have to kill him?" Nabooru asked.
"I'm afraid so."
In her ready room, Nabooru stared out at the stars, a coffee mug in her hand. The door chimed. "Come in," she said. Zelda entered.
"Captain." Nabooru turned around. She shook her head and took a big swig of coffee.
"The way I see it, I have two choices," she began. "Kill the ReDead to save Sonic, or kill Sonic to save the ReDead."
"Sonic would not die," Zelda replied. "The holographic lungs the doctor provided him with work just as well."
"But it's a temporary solution. It's only a matter of time before the holo- emitters are knocked out in an attack or the ship's power fails. If I let the ReDead live, Sonic is going to die."
"That may not be the only solution, Captain." Zelda replied enigmatically
"You said you lived by harvesting the organs of other species. How? Surely you don't mean to tell me your compatible with every species?" Nabooru asked the ReDead captain.
"No. That would be ridiculous. Our technology can process organs, making them compatible," he replied.
"Could you do the same to one of my lungs?" Saria asked. The captain nodded.
The operation was a success. While Sonic snoozed peacefully, Doc tapped Saria on the shoulder. "What is it, Doctor?" she asked.
"Saria, we've been working together for the last few days, and I must say, I'm impressed. You're kind, compassionate, eager to help, you get along with me-and I, myself, will admit that that's not the easiest thing to do. I've spoken with the captain. If you want, you can begin training to be Paris' backup. Or better yet, his replacement." He added the last with a mock irritability. Saria smiled eagerly.
Chapter 4
Phage
Captain Kathryn Nabooru and Commander Fox McCloud were enjoying a leisurely morning stroll through the hallways of Voyager. The conversation turned to Sonic, their hedgehog-like Delta Quadrant guide.
"So, he knows where we can find some dilithium?" Fox asked. Dilithium was the substance that powered the ship. Unless they found some, they'd end up dead in the water.
"He knows of an asteroid that ought to have rich veins of it." Nabooru confirmed. "We've already set a course. Of course, there's still the problem of processing the stuff."
"Malon thinks she may have a way of doing just that." Fox replied.
"Yes, she brought her plan to me this morning. It never fails; whenever there's a problem, Malon seems to find the solution most at odds with Starfleet regulations. Its like she's deliberately challenging them." said Nabooru.
"A few years in the Maquis can do that to you."
The conversation turned to food. The replicators were still down, and until they were repaired, the crew would have to make do with vacuum-sealed oatmeal. No champagne and cheese on this starship. The two parted ways at Nabooru's private dining quarters, just after the captain finished describing her ideal breakfast. Smoke greeted Nabooru as she entered. Sonic had apparently converted her dining quarters into a mess hall, and was busy cooking up meals from the produce Saria was growing in the Hydroponics Bay. Unfortunately, the hedgehog didn't ask first, and Nabooru was a little flustered at the prospect. Poor Sonic didn't seem to understand why the captain was so angry. Nabooru spluttered, trying to find the words-she found it almost amusing in a way. Timing is everything, however, and they arrived at the asteroid before Nabooru could get really mad.
Sonic, Luigi, and Fox beamed down onto the asteroid in search of a place to start mining dilithium. Imagine their confusion when they found that, while the promise of dilithium was there, there was no actual dilithium. As Luigi and Fox pondered the inconsistency, Sonic wandered away from the group.and into the crosshairs of an ugly, brown-skinned alien with rotting flesh. It fired its weapon, letting loose a paralyzing sonic blast. By the time Luigi and Fox reached him, Sonic was flopping on the dirt, gasping for breath. The ugly alien had disappeared.
Fox tapped his combadge. "Three to beam directly to sickbay."
In sickbay, Dr. Light's holodoctor managed to stabilize Sonic temporarily.
"Well, what's the diagnosis?" Luigi asked. Doc shook his head.
"Mr. Sonic has about an hour to live. His lungs have been removed- they were actually transported out of his body. There's absolutely nothing I can do-he's the only one of his kind aboard, so we have no donor." Saria entered, and rushed to Sonic's side. She looked up at the Holodoc and asked what had happened. He repeated his explanation. Saria offered to donate one of her lungs.
"Won't work," Doc replied. "Your Kokiri lungs aren't compatible with Talaxian physiology."
"So he's going to die?" she asked.
"I didn't say that." Holodoc replied. "I believe I can make holographic replicas of his lungs. Sickbay, of course, has holographic emitters, so they should work just as well as the real things-as long as the program is running and Mr. Sonic remains on the biobed. We'd probably have to secure him. It's a temporary solution. Hopefully, we'd be able to find a donor or the stolen lungs soon." Saria considered the options, then agreed.
The surgery was a success, and Sonic awoke, alive and breathing, though practically unable to move. "You know, I've never noticed this before, but the Sickbay ceiling is really ugly," he said, after everything was explained to him.
"I'm a doctor, not an interior decorator," Doc snapped. Saria promised to take care of the décor. Link, meanwhile, was proving to be a less-than-worthy assistant in the Holodoc's visual processors. Doc spoke condescendingly to Link throughout the procedure. In fairness, Link was approaching his assignments with something less than vigor. Why, only Link knew. He was spared further verbal abuse by the doctor when the com beeped, summoning him to the bridge. He gave Saria an encouraging squeeze on the shoulder, then hurried out. This did not sit well with Sonic. He proclaimed that Link didn't have the common decency to wait for his corpse to cool before moving in. "Link's just a friend!" Saria protested.
"No, he's a walking hormone," Sonic replied. A brief and gentle argument ensued. Saria told Sonic that she loved him, and that she hadn't given up on him yet. Sonic grunted, only half believing.
Nabooru, Link, Luigi, Zelda and Fox beamed down to the asteroid in search of clues. They discovered an organ repository, and shortly after, the Ugly Dude who stole Sonic's lungs. He raised his weapon with a hiss, but Fox was quicker on the draw. He drew his phaser and blasted the gun out of the alien's hands. It retreated to its ship. They picked up and analyzed the gun. Very sophisticated. As far as they could tell, it was a medical scanner, stun gun, and organ transporter all wrapped into one.
The five beamed back to Voyager and took up the chase. After several hours, they followed the ship into an asteroid, and found themselves in a nightmarish Hall of Mirrors. Alien ships surrounded them. There was no way to tell which was real, and weapons fire was being rained down on them. Shields were dropping sharply. It looked hopeless. Nabooru glanced at Zelda.
"Now would be a good time for some clever suggestions," she said.
"If we fire phasers at a low intensity, they ought to continue bouncing until they hit something," Zelda replied.
"Do it," Nabooru said, standing with her hands on her hips. The Sheikah lowered the phaser intensity, and fired.
It bounced off the first mirror. Luigi gulped.
Another mirror. Link began to mouth a Hail Mary.
A third mirror. Shields were almost out. Everyone closed their eyes except Nabooru and Zelda.
BOOM! The phaser collided with the alien vessel. In minutes, she was disabled. The home-field advantage just isn't enough to beat Starfleet training, well-honed battlefield instinct, cunning, and a red-headed captain. They lock on and beam the aliens aboard.
In Sickbay, Sonic was struggling, despite nice curtains and ceiling decorations. You would be too, if you were strapped to a table 24/7, breathing through holographic lungs, and being treated by an irritable package of photons and force-fields. The poor hedgehog began to panic, demanding to be released-which would kill him. He began to hyperventilate, and the Doctor was forced to sedate him. Doc crumpled to a biobed, holding his head in his hands.
"What's wrong, Doctor?" Saria asked.
"This isn't what I was programmed for," he replied dejectedly. "Almost everything I've done so far has required some amount of improvisation. One of these days, I won't have the answer, and someone's going to die."
"Don't talk like that!" Saria scolded. "Who cured Malon and Luigi of the Deku Tree's disease? Who's the one who's kept Sonic alive, even without his lungs? Maybe you're going beyond your original programming. All that means is you have to expand your programming, expand your knowledge. Just because you're a hologram doesn't mean you can't learn like any creature of flesh- and-blood." Doc smiled at the young Kokiri girl.
Nabooru and Zelda rushed to the transporter room to meet the organ- snatchers. There were two of the, looking very disoriented. Nabooru stepped forward, keeping her phase rifle leveled with them the whole time.
"My name is Kathryn Nabooru of the Federation starship Voyager. Who are you, and why did you steal my crewman's lungs?" The taller alien, obviously the leader, gave a wry smile. He stepped off the transporter pad.
"By 'who are you,' I assume you mean my species, and not me in particular," he said. His voice was as scratchy as sandpaper. "My race is called the ReDead. We had another name once, but it has been lost to the sands of time. For centuries, we have been plagued by an terrible and incurable disease called the Phage. It destroys our bodies and organs from within. Even now, you see the effects on us. We were a great race once, but the Phage has destroyed us. We've been forced to resort to organ scavenging. We try to take only from the dead, but sometimes, emergencies arise. The Phage recently claimed my friends lungs. The Talaxian happened to be there, and.you know the rest."
"You mean, your friend is using Sonic's lungs? That to save Sonic, I'd have to kill him?" Nabooru asked.
"I'm afraid so."
In her ready room, Nabooru stared out at the stars, a coffee mug in her hand. The door chimed. "Come in," she said. Zelda entered.
"Captain." Nabooru turned around. She shook her head and took a big swig of coffee.
"The way I see it, I have two choices," she began. "Kill the ReDead to save Sonic, or kill Sonic to save the ReDead."
"Sonic would not die," Zelda replied. "The holographic lungs the doctor provided him with work just as well."
"But it's a temporary solution. It's only a matter of time before the holo- emitters are knocked out in an attack or the ship's power fails. If I let the ReDead live, Sonic is going to die."
"That may not be the only solution, Captain." Zelda replied enigmatically
"You said you lived by harvesting the organs of other species. How? Surely you don't mean to tell me your compatible with every species?" Nabooru asked the ReDead captain.
"No. That would be ridiculous. Our technology can process organs, making them compatible," he replied.
"Could you do the same to one of my lungs?" Saria asked. The captain nodded.
The operation was a success. While Sonic snoozed peacefully, Doc tapped Saria on the shoulder. "What is it, Doctor?" she asked.
"Saria, we've been working together for the last few days, and I must say, I'm impressed. You're kind, compassionate, eager to help, you get along with me-and I, myself, will admit that that's not the easiest thing to do. I've spoken with the captain. If you want, you can begin training to be Paris' backup. Or better yet, his replacement." He added the last with a mock irritability. Saria smiled eagerly.