Tuvok’s look. “Just in case.”
Ippi grinned, and Paris wished he hadn’t. His mouth was toothless and black inside. “What—you plan on dosing your ship water supply? Maybe someday when you out there, bored on a run?
Maybe you get things lively?”
“Actually,” Tuvok said before Paris could reply, “the chemicals are needed for the treatment of our computer core. Our processor was stolen.”
“Computer…” Ippi drawled. “Huh! I got some thing to tell about computer. There been odd thing lately with computer, if you can follow.”
“No,” Paris said sharply. “What do you mean?”
“What you give me for it?” Ippi immediately countered.
Again, Tuvok stepped in. “We will provide you with sufficient reward for any information you can give us. However, we would first like the ninety quants of corticosteroids.”
Ippi snuffled again, sneaking a look at Paris, having apparently identified him as the heavy. “I got to get it from Hummer, but first he need the credit.”
“No deal,” Paris instantly replied.
“Then no deal,” Ippi echoed. “What—you want me to get strung up for bothering Hummer with no credit in hand? Uh-huh, for ninety quants, you got to hand over some real info.”
“I will provide you with a list of the DNA catalog,” Tuvok said quietly.
Ippi shook his head. “Not enough. I want few sample of the info to show Hummer.”
“You may have one sample DNA.” Tuvok held out a hand to silence Paris’s protest. “I was assured this is the way business is conducted in the Hub.”
Ippi reluctantly considered the offer. “Huh… I guess that a deal.
Tuvok manipulated his tricorder, recording the necessary information and removing an isolinear chip. “Is optical data compatible with your system?”
Ippi gingerly took the chip. “Why not?” He waved the chip in Paris’s direction. “You wait here. I come back.”
Ippi darted into the shadows, his toothless grin the last thing Paris saw. It was criminal, really, but there was nothing he could do with a Vulcan leading the negotiation team. He turned away, kicking at the debris in the corridor. “We might as well go.”
Tuvok blinked over at him. “Mr. Ippi requested that we remain here until he returns.”
“Yeah.” Paris wasn’t going to try to explain. “Believe me, we’ve just seen the last of Mr. Ippi.”
Kim couldn’t believe it: Paris and Tuvok were able to gallivant around the Hub, consorting with all kinds of interesting people, and B’Elanna got to go to an exotic world with the captain to rescue their computer processor—while he was stuck crawling around the bowels of the ship. It almost made him wish he’d pitched a fit at the holodoc, too; maybe then he’d be on an exciting adventure himself.
“This is amazing,” Kes whispered reverently. “I had no idea these tunnels penetrated the entire ship.”
“Ow!” Kim exclaimed, bumping his forehead on a low-hanging conduit.
He sat down, rubbing his sore skull. “I don’t see what’s so amazing about it, every starship has Jeffries tubes.
If you ask me, when you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all.”
“I think it’s fascinating.” Kes craned her head to see up the vertical tube that led to the deuterium-matter tanks. “You can get anywhere in the ship and never have to go into the corridors.”
“Sure, if you never want to stand up straight again.” Kim started forward again. “There’s the module housing the lower bioneural masses for the main core. The upper modules are in the monitor room.”
“How do we access the tissue?”
Kim opened the magnetic constrictors of the bulkhead to reveal the primary bioshunt, a collared conduit with its own monitoring system in the main joint. “We can pull a sample of the nutrient from here.”
“Get some that’s being siphoned off, as well,” Kes suggested.
“If the neural cells are being stimulated, there should be an abundance of potassium ions in the
Ippi grinned, and Paris wished he hadn’t. His mouth was toothless and black inside. “What—you plan on dosing your ship water supply? Maybe someday when you out there, bored on a run?
Maybe you get things lively?”
“Actually,” Tuvok said before Paris could reply, “the chemicals are needed for the treatment of our computer core. Our processor was stolen.”
“Computer…” Ippi drawled. “Huh! I got some thing to tell about computer. There been odd thing lately with computer, if you can follow.”
“No,” Paris said sharply. “What do you mean?”
“What you give me for it?” Ippi immediately countered.
Again, Tuvok stepped in. “We will provide you with sufficient reward for any information you can give us. However, we would first like the ninety quants of corticosteroids.”
Ippi snuffled again, sneaking a look at Paris, having apparently identified him as the heavy. “I got to get it from Hummer, but first he need the credit.”
“No deal,” Paris instantly replied.
“Then no deal,” Ippi echoed. “What—you want me to get strung up for bothering Hummer with no credit in hand? Uh-huh, for ninety quants, you got to hand over some real info.”
“I will provide you with a list of the DNA catalog,” Tuvok said quietly.
Ippi shook his head. “Not enough. I want few sample of the info to show Hummer.”
“You may have one sample DNA.” Tuvok held out a hand to silence Paris’s protest. “I was assured this is the way business is conducted in the Hub.”
Ippi reluctantly considered the offer. “Huh… I guess that a deal.
Tuvok manipulated his tricorder, recording the necessary information and removing an isolinear chip. “Is optical data compatible with your system?”
Ippi gingerly took the chip. “Why not?” He waved the chip in Paris’s direction. “You wait here. I come back.”
Ippi darted into the shadows, his toothless grin the last thing Paris saw. It was criminal, really, but there was nothing he could do with a Vulcan leading the negotiation team. He turned away, kicking at the debris in the corridor. “We might as well go.”
Tuvok blinked over at him. “Mr. Ippi requested that we remain here until he returns.”
“Yeah.” Paris wasn’t going to try to explain. “Believe me, we’ve just seen the last of Mr. Ippi.”
Kim couldn’t believe it: Paris and Tuvok were able to gallivant around the Hub, consorting with all kinds of interesting people, and B’Elanna got to go to an exotic world with the captain to rescue their computer processor—while he was stuck crawling around the bowels of the ship. It almost made him wish he’d pitched a fit at the holodoc, too; maybe then he’d be on an exciting adventure himself.
“This is amazing,” Kes whispered reverently. “I had no idea these tunnels penetrated the entire ship.”
“Ow!” Kim exclaimed, bumping his forehead on a low-hanging conduit.
He sat down, rubbing his sore skull. “I don’t see what’s so amazing about it, every starship has Jeffries tubes.
If you ask me, when you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all.”
“I think it’s fascinating.” Kes craned her head to see up the vertical tube that led to the deuterium-matter tanks. “You can get anywhere in the ship and never have to go into the corridors.”
“Sure, if you never want to stand up straight again.” Kim started forward again. “There’s the module housing the lower bioneural masses for the main core. The upper modules are in the monitor room.”
“How do we access the tissue?”
Kim opened the magnetic constrictors of the bulkhead to reveal the primary bioshunt, a collared conduit with its own monitoring system in the main joint. “We can pull a sample of the nutrient from here.”
“Get some that’s being siphoned off, as well,” Kes suggested.
“If the neural cells are being stimulated, there should be an abundance of potassium ions in the
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