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Trojan Horse #89 - 90 "Thanks, I Needed That"-=On=- Once she left the ready room, Kitty looked around at the bridge and the terrible scene on the viewscreen. She took a deep breath, her courage faltering, and made for the turbolift quickly, keeping her head lowered. As the turbolift came to a stop, she exited, still keeping her head lowered, moving quickly and not watching where she was going. She nearly tripped over Hannah, who was sitting on the floor, silent. "Eep!" Startled, Kitty pinwheeled her arms, stumbling forward a few steps, then came to a stop. She turned, then frowned, returning to Hannah's side and bending down a little. "Are you alright down there?" she asked, worried. Hannah looked up, sighing. "I guess." "That doesn't sound ok." Kitty sat herself down on the other side of the corridor, leaning against the opposite wall, facing Hannah. "It'd seem silly to ask what was bothering you. So what part out of what just happened is bothering you?" "The fact that I just murdered a whole shipful of Starfleet personnel doesn't make me feel too great." Hannah shrugged "I thought Petrova said they were already dead.. the hologram killed them." Kitty frowned, crossing her legs and resting her hands on her knees. "Yeah, and blowing their ship apart really increased their chances of survival, didn't it?" Hannah said, sarcastically "Well, of course it didn't." Kitty leaned back a little. "I'm about to go down there and tell the Lantree engineers that." "Where are you keeping them?" Hannah asked, trying to change the subject. "Keeping them? They're in Engineering, doing repairs with everyone else," Kitty said calmly. "They've been a great help, got a lot done. They're good workers, and they've been giving it their best." Hannah frowned. "I guess - given what we just found out, I'm considering letting the ones we have out of containment - we locked them in some spare quarters - just to be safe. "Commander Petrova said to have Security release them," Kitty remembered. "Gee... you're better at thinking like a fighter than I am. I just assumed they'd be trustworthy. They're engineers!" "You can't take any chances." Hannah shrugged. "We didn't know what had just happened - I made the decision that seemed to make the most sense." Kitty smiled at that, then frowned, pulling her legs in a little closer. "I think I killed someone." Hannah started in shock. "I'm sorry?" "That hologram, that program," Kitty said, troubled. "It was intact on our ship. It might've met sentience requirements, if we'd run the tests. And I wiped it out myself. I'd felt a bit.. jealous.. but..." "You didn't have a choice." Hannah said. "Neither did I. It sucks, but I guess..." She paused. It was funny, reassuring Kitty made her feel a lot better. "Well, if only that was the only thing wrong..." Kitty huddled a little tighter. "He's in Sickbay, and he was protecting me. I froze up. If we'd both run.. maybe he wouldn't have gotten hurt..." Her voice tightened until the last part was almost a squeak. "Who's in sickbay? Evans?" Hannah said, concerned. "Yeah, with a broken vertebra," Kitty said bitterly. "And he was keeping me safe while I went all to pieces." "A broken vertebra..." Hannah said, worried. "That sounds serious." "He couldn't get up... we were beamed to Sickbay, and they gave him something, knocked him out... and it's all my fault." Kitty's voice was slightly muffled now, as her slender form curled tighter. "Hey, hey." Hannah said, soothingly, stroking Kitty's hair. "It's not your fault." Her own problems forgotten, her concern was only for the other woman. "It was just one of those things." She shrugged. She never had been good at sympathy. Or rather, at expressing it. "No, it _was_ my fault.." Kitty whimpered. "I froze up. I couldn't move. If we'd run, maybe we could have gotten out of there in time.. or.. something. I just heard the creaking, and I couldn't move." The stroking seemed to help.. at least, she uncurled just slightly. "Hey..." Hannah said, embracing the other woman. "He'll be ok..." She was so frustrated at her own inability to make Kitty feel better. "As long as he'll be ok..." Kitty whimpered. Then she sighed. "Look at this, I'm supposed to be this big shot Chief Engineer and third in command and everything, and here I am all upsetted..." "I won't tell if you don't." Hannah grinned. "I won't tell," Kitty said with the first smile she'd shown since charging out of the turbolift. "So... uhm... we're both section heads, we'd better get moving. What's your next move?" "I'm off to try and figure out what armaments we've got left." "And I'm off to collate a team of engineers to go looting." Kitty stretched and then pulled to her feet. "Hey.. thanks.. for being a friend." "Any time." Hannah said, getting to her own feet. "That's what I'm here for." "You'll have to tell Ryylar that," Kitty chuckled, though the chuckle did have a sad sound to it. "Let's count on ice cream later on. I think I could use it. Okay?" Hannah gave her a cheeky salute. "See you later, hon." She grinned. END Lieutenant Kitty Black Chief Engineering Officer USS Pegasus Lieutenant Hannah O'Driscoll Chief Tactical Officer USS Pegasus
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