Star Trek - TOS 38 Idic Epidemic (41 page)

To his annoyance, Korsal was laughing. But it was
the painful laughter of irony. “If that’s what our Nisus
plague really is, the Klingon Empire certainly cannot use it as a weapon!”

“Why not?” Kirk asked.

“Because the Klingon Imperial race not only is not
immune to it, but rejects antibodies from other
Klingon blood. Everyone entering the Klingon Em
pire must be immunized against Imperial plague, lest
our leaders be exposed. To them, it is deadly. You have seen how fast the worst strains
kill
—in the twenty days it takes to synthesize the only cure they
can use, most would be dead.”

The Imperial race. Kirk knew that the real leader
ship of the Klingon Empire were never seen in the
neutral territories bordering the Federation, although
they had been seen back in the days of First Contact.
He had seen old tapes of men with gnarled foreheads,
who wore their hair longer than the Klingons he was
familiar with.

“But why didn’t you recognize the plague?” Kirk
asked.

“I told you: every non-Klingon entering the empire
is routinely immunized. The disease has not been seen in the Klingon Empire for generations, and as Kef said, my field is not medicine. One of your physicians might recognize a case of, say, smallpox —but would you, a starship captain?”

“I suppose you’re right,” Kirk admitted. He be
gan to relax. “At least we don’t have to worry about
Borth now; he has nothing to sell. Korsal, I trust you.
And I suppose I can trust Kef’s enlightened self-
interest.”

As he was saying it, Mr. Scott arrived with Kevin and Karl. The two boys were bubbling over with excitement, but they sat on Kevin’s bed as Scott
asked, “Who’s Kef?”

“Captain of the Klingon ship whose crew is right now donating blood to stop the plague,” Kirk in
formed him, enjoying seeing his chief engineer flab
bergasted.

Scott looked from Korsal to his two sons, then to
T’Pina and Beau Deaver by the door. “Saved by
Klingons and Romulans. Klingons in Starfleet Acade
my. Captain, we’ve not gone through some strange
space anomaly, have we?”

“No, Scotty,” Kirk assured him, and explained the
latest situation. Then he turned to Kevin, who was listening avidly. “You, young man, appear to have a
choice again.”

“I still want to go to Starfleet Academy,” the boy
replied. Then, looking at his father, “At least I want to
try it.”

“Maybe,” said Kirk, “by the time you are ready to
graduate we’ll have a real alliance instead of just an
armed truce with your father’s people. What’s going
on on Nisus is certainly contributing to that.”

“I hope so, sir,” Kevin replied.

Kirk turned to T’Pina and Deaver. “If we do get
better relations with the Klingons,” he suggested to
the girl, “you may be able to find out more about your
ancestry.”

“Perhaps,” she said, but despite her Vulcan control
he heard the poignancy in her tone. Beau Deaver put a
hand on her shoulder. She did not shrug him off, but turned to look up into his eyes. “Please, Beau, do not
do that.”

“T’Pina, you
have
a family,” the man said. “Who
cares about your ancestry? You are complete in
yourself—someone I want to know better, if you’ll let
me.”

This time she did reach to remove the offending
hand. “I am honored to call you friend, Beau, but
with my mother remarrying, I must begin to make my
own decisions.”

“Have you decided to return to Vulcan?” he asked.

“No. I will stay on Nisus.”

“Well, then,” said Deaver with a disarming smile,
“that will give me time and opportunity.”

Dr. McCoy arrived just as T’Pina and Deaver left,
saying, “Korsal, you’re free to go as soon as you feel
fit—same for you boys.”

“Thank you, Doctor,” said Korsal, getting out of
bed. “I will be glad to return to my work. Kevin, those
plans we were working on for better safeties for the
dam—”

“If we’re right, there’ll never be another flood like
this one,” the boy replied, taking his disk from the
computer.

Kirk went to McCoy’s office, for he had news for the
doctor after he completed checking the Klingons out
of sickbay. He found Spock there, studying a diagram
on the medical computer. “The cure?”

Spock nodded. “The cure, Captain. It’s hemoglobin-neutral; it can be synthesized for either iron-
based or copper-based blood.” He looked up. “Provided by the Klingons.”

“So the IDIC Epidemic spreads,” Kirk observed.

One of Spock’s eyebrows rose for a moment, and
then he realized what Kirk meant. “Yes, infinite diversity may have provided a breeding ground for the disease, but it also provided cures. Not just this one. T’Pina. Korsal. All the people who came to
help.”

McCoy joined them, hearing what Spock was say
ing. “It’s too bad we won’t be staying on Nisus much
longer. The additional blood serum will cure all the
critical patients left. In twenty days we’ll have the
synthetic serum, and we can immunize everyone left
among the crew and passengers, and get on with our
mission.”

“I’ll be glad to,” said Kirk. “I’m ready to dump
Sendet and the rest of that crew and get back to our
job. Which reminds me—I pulled some strings with
Starfleet, Bones, and got Geoff M’Benga assigned to
the
Enterprise.
When we leave, he comes with us.”

Spock’s eyebrows shot up. “You have acquired a
physician who has actually studied Vulcan physiol
ogy?”

“Vulcan
physiology, maybe,” McCoy retorted.
“I’m
still the resident expert on
yours.”

“I shall endeavor,” Spock said solemnly, “to avoid
requiring that expertise.”

“An endeavor you’ve never been very successful
with in the past,” McCoy pointed out. “Well, maybe
I’ll let Geoff practice on you. He says you’re a classic,
Spock.”

“Indeed?” The eyebrows rose again.

“A classic case of procrastination, that’s what you two are!” said Kirk, actually only too happy to see Spock and McCoy relaxed enough to snipe at one
another again. “I’m tired of orbiting Nisus.”

He went to the intercom. “Engineering.”

“Scott here.” Already. Of course.

“Get those engines ready, Scotty. We break orbit in
twenty days. Kirk out.” Then he turned to his two
closest friends. “Well, what are you standing around for? You’ve got a serum to synthesize, and I’ve got a
ship to run. Twenty days, gentlemen; twenty days and
not one minute more!”