Cybersong Read Online Free PDF Page B

interjected. “It takes a couple of hours to run, but at least we’ll know if the system’s at fault.”
    “Two point five nine hours, to be exact,” Tuvok corrected her.
    “If there is no computer malfunction, then either connections have been deliberately cut or the log has been tampered with.
    These are the only logical explanations for the data.”
    “Could it be related to the tachyon field?” Harry Kim asked innocently. “At this level could it be creating interference in our internal systems?”
    “It shouldn’t be,” B’Elanna Torres replied, her voice less firm than usual. “But it makes more sense than sabotage.”
    “Getting to the bottom of this is our second priority,” the captain stated, interrupting the brainstorming she usually encouraged among her staff. “The first thing we have to do is stop this ship from getting any closer to whatever is causing this. Which means bypassing the computer and doing a manual shutoff. I know there are protocols for this …”
    “I’ve already tried to access them,” Torres interrupted flatly.
    “They’re unavailable.”
    “Unavailable?” the captain asked, tilting her head slightly as she often did when she found something utterly absurd.
    “That’s the answer I got. Unavailable. That I didn’t have the proper authorization,” the engineer explained.
    The captain didn’t waste a minute; she requested that the computer access the shutoff protocols.
    And she got the same reply. “Those instructions are unavailable without proper authorization,” the computer said.
    Janeway’s eyes burned with fury. “This is Captain Kathryn Janeway, and I am in command of the Starship Voyager. I have complete authorization to require any file aboard this vessel.”
    “Authorization denied,” the computer replied.
    Janeway met Tuvok’s eyes across the table. “Sabotage,” the Vulcan said. Then he turned his steady gaze onto the half-Klingon chief engineer. “We need to investigate immediately.”
    “We need to cut the power immediately,” the captain countered him.
    “That comes first. Once we’re not running at warp speed into who-knows-where, we can investigate.” She turned her attention to the engineer.
    “All right, we’ll need to go to manual override,” the captain said.
    “What’s the best way to do that?”
    Torres’s whole body strained with concentration. She stood and leaned on her arms, her elbows stiff and her palms flat on the table. “The only way to do that quickly and effectively is to physically go in and cut the control interfaces at the central box. But that will entirely disable navigation. It’ll take several hours to repair once we have this all cleared up.”
    Janeway nodded. “Can you cut the warp drive without affecting impulse power?”
    This time Torres nodded vigorously. “That’s easy. The control routings are shunted in completely separate sequences. I’ll get right on it.”
    “Good,” the captain said, and rose.
    The rest of the staff rose with her, and Torres didn’t wait for anyone before she tore out to the turbolift. As the other officers left the ready room, Tuvok lingered behind. The captain knew he wanted to talk to her privately. And she appreciated his discretion almost as much as she valued his intelligence.
    As usual, he waited until they were entirely alone before he spoke.
    “Captain, have you considered that B’Elanna Torres might be the saboteur? She has the expertise and the access. Of any member of this crew, she is the most capable.”
    Captain Janeway raised her hand as if to wave the suggestion away.
    “What would she get out of it, Mr. Tuvok?” she asked rhetorically.
    “She doesn’t have any more connection with whatever is in that tachyon field than we do. She has no motive.”
    Janeway sat back in her chair, her hands steepled in front of her as she considered what her security officer had just told her.
    “You really think B’Elanna is doing this to us?” the captain