A small scaffold had been erected at the edge of the vein with a panel atop, where he proceeded to secure the dish. As soon as the vessel was filled, its top would iris closed, sealing the substance inside.
At least theoretically.
As O’Donnell tested the canister’s lid one last time, Patel affixed a small chunk of chemical explosive to the exposed silicon. At its center was a time-delayed detonator.
O’Donnell placed the canister at the center of the scaffolding. Then, he and Patel stepped back. Patel tapped her combadge. “Patel to Voyager. We are about to begin the extraction.”
“Good luck,” the voice of Captain Chakotay sounded in reply. “We have a lock on your coordinates and will transport you to safety should that be required. Comm lines will remain open.”
“Thank you, Captain,” O’Donnell, said then turned to Patel. “Ready?”
Patel nodded. “Stand back, please.” Stepping forward again, she activated the detonator, hurried to O’Donnell’s side, and reactivated the force field.
One full minute passed before the detonator erupted with a pop and hiss, exposing a hole in the silicon.
“Come on,” O’Donnell said softly.
What started as a trickle of water soon became a steady stream. Seconds later, that stream thickened as the viscous black substance began to drip into its container.
Five seconds later, the container emitted a burst of air that splattered the substance still dripping onto the rock face. It then sealed itself with a loud chirp. The panel atop the scaffolding holding the container instantly retracted and floated across the cavern toward the force field so as to avoid contaminating the outside of the container with any of the Edrehmaia base.
“Antigrav?” Patel asked.
“Elkins doesn’t miss a trick,” O’Donnell replied, noting that the Edrehmaia base resumed its flow down the wall of the cavern from the fissure in the silicon created by the explosive.
“Dropping the force field,” Patel said as she raised her phaser and aimed it at the fissure.
“Go ahead.”
The field dropped and O’Donnell raised his tricorder to scan the container as Patel directed her phaser at the fissure and fired it at maximum strength. Just as it had when Seven had fired upon the substance when it had first attacked Ensign Gwyn, the fluid began to solidify.
“We have containment,” O’Donnell reported, ecstatic. He gave the antigrav a gentle shove in the direction of the tunnel’s exit as Patel again raised the force field. Neither remained to observe her handiwork. Instead, they turned and ran for all they were worth, barely keeping pace with the floating canister in their bulky suits until they reached the tunnel’s end.
There, Lieutenant Elkins greeted them from the far side of the secondary force field.
“Drop it!” O’Donnell shouted, gasping for air.
Elkins did so. As soon as O’Donnell, Patel, and the canister were safe in the main chamber, Elkins reactivated the field. Seconds later, a loud boom sounded behind them as explosives embedded in the tunnel walls only a few meters from the fissure were detonated, collapsing the end of the tunnel and sealing what remained of the substance they had released behind meters of solid rock.
Everyone paused to catch their breath, O’Donnell’s, Patel’s, and Elkins’s eyes glued to the canister. A bright, steady green light that circled the lid confirmed for all of them that containment was still in effect.
Elkins approached the force field and completed a scan. “Structural integrity confirmed,” he reported. “The main body of the cavern remains intact at ninety-nine percent of previous stability.”
At this, the entire group cheered.
“We did it,” Elkins said, placing a hand on Patel’s shoulder.
“Did you doubt it for a second?” Patel asked.
“Commander, report,” Chakotay ordered over the comm.
Through ragged breaths, O’Donnell said, “We successfully collapsed the tunnel and have retrieved a sample of the Edrehmaia substance that is safely contained.”
“Well done,” Chakotay congratulated him as applause from Voyager’s bridge echoed over the open comm line. “The Okinawa is in position on the surface. Start walking, folks. We’ll expect you topside within the hour.”
“We’re on our way, sir,” Patel replied.
As the group began to move slowly toward their exit, the antigrav floating before them, O’Donnell said, “How wrong is it that this is the only part of our mission I was truly dreading?”
“You and me both, Captain,” Elkins said.
“I don’t understand,” Patel said. “The hard part is over.”
“I haven’t hiked for more than three minutes in a decade, Lieutenant,” O’Donnell said. “For me, the hard part is just about to begin.”
17
GALEN
Lieutenant Harry Kim vaguely remembered the last time he had felt this cold. It was within seconds of regaining consciousness following Galen’s transport by the Edrehmaia. He hadn’t registered the change then because he had been unconscious. But the moment Conlon looked at him, her eyes bright, and calmly asked him to identify himself, an icy blast ripped through him.
“I’m Harry. I’m the, I’m your—”
“Lieutenant Kim, please don’t panic,” the Doctor interjected. “Let’s run a full diagnostic. This might just be a processing lag.”
Conlon’s brow furrowed. It was a gesture Kim had seen a thousand times directed toward him. Clearly some, perhaps most, of Conlon’s consciousness now animated this holomatrix. “What’s wrong?” she demanded as Barclay began his scans.
“Doc, I don’t understand,” Kim began.
“Neither do I,” he replied, “but I promise you, we will get to the bottom of this.”
“Bridge to Lieutenant Kim,” Drur’s voice sounded over the comm.
Kim tapped his badge automatically. “It’s not a great time, Mike,” he said briskly, his voice cracking.
“Oh, um… okay? It’s just…”
“Can it wait?” Kim demanded tensely.
“I’m sorry, sir, but I don’t think so. I’ve been talking with Fred, and a few of his friends have shown up and I really think you should get up here before they—”
“Who the hell is Fred?”
This time, Drur’s voice cracked as he replied, “One of the Edrehmaia, sir.”
Kim felt his knees begin to buckle as Commander Glenn entered the main bay, her
