Star Trek - TOS 38 Idic Epidemic (26 page)

“Within the hour, probably. Why?”

“Would you do me the kindness to carry a message
tape for my wife? I’m sure she has been told that
Kevin and I are well, but I have been unable to talk to her directly because ship’s channels are all on priority
status.”

“Of course,” said McCoy.

Korsal added, “I was not even allowed to send the
warning about the dam directly, but I am sure your
ship’s communications officer delivered it.”

“The dam?” McCoy asked.

“The safety sluice—the reason we were up on the
mountain when we were caught in the storm,” Korsal
explained. “If that safety isn’t repaired, more slabs of
ice could get through to hit the turbines, and the
power plant could be knocked out.”

“Why don’t you folks use solar or fusion power, like
most planets?” McCoy asked.

“Nisus is a watery planet, like your Earth,” Korsal
explained. “It was much simpler and cheaper to build
the hydroelectric plant than a fusion plant, since the
dam was needed anyway. And the atmosphere blocks
too much sunlight for solar power to be efficient.
Nisus is warm more from a greenhouse effect than
from direct solar radiation.”

“Well, I’m a doctor, not an engineer.” McCoy
smiled. “I’ll ask Lieutenant Uhura to make sure your message got through. If there’s anything I hate, it’s to
have the power go out on me—it always seems to
happen in the middle of surgery!”

McCoy’s efficient sickbay staff soon had Korsal and
Kevin hooked up to equipment that monitored their
tolerance and administered the flow of blood stimu
lant. Soon Arthur came in to draw a unit of blood
from each of them, and then the captain of the
Enterprise
paid them a visit.

Korsal had heard of James T. Kirk. From the
legends, he had expected a more imposing figure of a
man than this average-height, average-build Human
with light brown hair and eyes and the same air of
nervous fatigue that gripped everyone here and on
Nisus.

But he soon experienced the power of Kirk’s per
sonality as the man smiled and said, “I want to thank
both of you. With your cooperation, we’ve now got a vaccine for everyone with iron-based blood.”

“Only people with iron-based blood?” Kevin asked.
“But that means—”

“It means,” said Korsal, “that approximately half
the residents of Nisus can be protected. Captain, we
were not told this fact. I am sorry.”

“Sorry?”

“We have Vulcan, Rigellian, Orion friends too.
There is still no vaccine for them, then.”
No protec
tion for Seela.

“Father,” said Kevin, “we couldn’t possibly give
enough blood for the whole planet.”

“Your son is right,” said Kirk. “But inoculating
medical personnel will mean proper care for those
who
do
fall ill. Inoculating those of mixed heritage
with iron-based blood will eliminate at least
those
opportunities for mutation. You’ve given us a place to
start, and we are grateful.”

Korsal smiled, carefully keeping his teeth covered.
“You thank us for something we have no control over,
a factor in our blood.”

“No, for your willingness to aid others. Now, is there anything I can do to make your stay more
comfortable?”

“Your staff is treating us like the emperor himself,”
Korsal replied.

“Well, then, at least I can bring you a piece of good
news.” He turned to Kevin. “Kevin Katasai, I have
the honor and the pleasure of informing you that you
have been granted early admission into Starfleet
Academy. As I understand it, you will complete your
schooling on Nisus by stardate 4100.”

“That is correct,” said Kevin, his certainty telling
his father the boy had calculated the stardate well
before today.

“The next class after that begins on stardate 4168,”
said Kirk. “If you accept the appointment, you will
report to Starfleet Academy on that date.”

Korsal saw his son’s eyes sparkle with delight as he
shook hands with Captain Kirk. “I am honored, sir,”
he said. “Even more so that you should be the one to
tell me. I’ve read and heard so much about you—”

“That you just had to start breaking my records,
eh?” said Kirk with a smile.

“No one will ever break them all, sir,” replied
Kevin. “Besides, I don’t plan to go into the command
program. I want to be an engineer, like my father. In
Starfleet, I can design ships that can go even farther
and faster than the
Enterprise,
bridge the distances
between the farthest planets in only days. Or—maybe not need ships at all. Imagine a transporter that would reach from Nisus to Earth!”

The boy fell silent, realizing: “I’m sorry, sir—it’s just that I’m excited. I was not sure I would be
accepted.”

“You have every right to be excited,” Kirk told him,
then turned to Korsal. “Are you … comfortable with your son’s decision?”

“He has the right,” Korsal replied. “I know he will be well educated. And it will be good for Kevin to learn something of the Federation outside Nisus. He has been sheltered in many ways.” His smile this time was forced; he knew quite well that Kevin would come up against blatant prejudice at Starfleet Acad
emy.

Yet
…
Starfleet Command had overcome its prejudices to allow a half-Klingon cadet to enter the Academy. He knew his son had the courage to succeed. “I am proud of my son’s achievements,” he said, then added, “Captain, would it be possible to
have a couple of computer terminals? Kevin needs to
catch up on schoolwork he’s missed the past few
days.”

“I thought the schools were closed,” said Kirk.

“They are, but the students have assignments in those subjects which can be conducted by computer.”

“Yes,” said Kevin. “I’m way ahead in math and physics. When the schools reopen, we’ll probably
spend all our time on discussion subjects—like litera
ture and poetry.”

Those subjects had not had a large place at the schools Korsal had attended, and he had been surprised to find them such a major part of the curriculum in Federation schools. Kevin’s tone of voice
clearly indicated that he considered them a waste of
his time.

Kirk did not miss the boy’s attitude. “You don’t like
literature and poetry?”

“I prefer what’s real,” said Kevin. “That stuff is all
imaginary.”

Kirk laughed. “And where would engineers be without imagination? Kevin, starships had to be imagined before they could be designed and built. Besides, literature deals with
people—
and if you
think about it, all your life you’re going to be dealing
with people. You can’t experience all possibilities, but over the centuries writers have described every one of
them. Let me see—have you ever read
The Canter
bury Tales,
by Geoffrey Chaucer?”

“No, but it’s on our reading list.”

“Our first officer, Mr. Spock, has been reading it while he’s been in isolation; said his father made a
reference to it, and he wanted to refresh his memory.
So I know it’s in our library computer. Why don’t you
read that while you’re sitting around here with nothing to do but save the world?”

“Half the world,” Kevin said. Then he added, more
brightly, “I’d rather study the schematics of your
warp engines.”

Kirk laughed again. “Tell you what—I’ll set you a
course of
The Canterbury Tales,
and some Earth
history of medieval Europe for background. Then I’ll
come back and discuss it with you, and you can
explain to me what the Canterbury pilgrims and their world have in common with the world you live in on
Nisus. In return I’ll get my chief engineer to
show
you
the warp engines. Deal?”

“Deal,” Kevin replied.

Korsal could see where Kirk had gotten his reputa
tion for diplomacy. He asked for a terminal for himself and access to his own plague data. If he
projected it forward in time, assuming inoculations of
the half of the population his and his sons’ blood
could protect, perhaps he could find the most efficient
order in which to use the vaccine.

“Certainly,” Kirk agreed. He walked over to the intercom on the wall, but before he could punch the button, it came on.

“Captain Kirk,” said an urgent female voice.

“Kirk here,” replied the captain.

“Uhura here. Captain, when communications cleared, I took us off priority status and started
sending through the personal messages to Nisus. But
there’s one from the Klingon engineer Korsal to the
engineering staff at the dam—”

“Khest!”
exclaimed Korsal. “It wasn’t sent? They
don’t know that that safety sluice is out!”

“Shall I send it? Security suggested it could be some
kind of code, Captain.”

“Send it!” Kirk shouted. Then, more calmly, “We don’t know who all are sick or dead. That message
means exactly what it says. Send it, emergency priori
ty, to its original destination and to every Nisus
official and every engineer—both home and office.”

He turned to Korsal. “I’m sorry. If I’d known …
how bad is it?”

“Obviously there has not yet been another accident like the one that caused Kevin and me to fly up there
in the first place. But the moment there is a thaw,
Captain—if that safety has not been repaired, ice will
get through and damage the turbines. We never got
high enough to check more than the nearest safety sluice, either. As soon as the weather breaks, all of
them need to be checked out, and repaired if neces
sary. Otherwise, Nisus is virtually certain to lose
electrical power just when they are still trying to fight
the epidemic.”

Chapter Twenty-six

When James T. Kirk left the two Klingons, he found
Dr. McCoy leaving the decontamination lock from
the isolation units. “How’s Amanda?”

“Weak. Hanging on, though. I gave her the serum;
now there’s nothing to do but wait.”

“Been to visit Spock and Sarek?”