"An Explosive Situation"

[Thoros 0]

As he stood on the pad in the transporter room, Thoros tried not to get tense. An ensign from security stood next to him, making up the rest of the away team. Thoros wasn't even sure who the crewmember was. Things weren't exactly running top shape in security. It hadn't been that long since he had assumed command of security, and with the death of one crewmember and Marx stuck in sickbay they were a little shorthanded. Thoros had thought about having Servo come along, but he would rather have the ensign continuing his investigation.

 

Thoros gave the order to beam aboard the ship, and almost an instant later he and the crewmember were transported in, weapons drawn. There, on the floor, were three badly beaten figures, one of them the ambassador. But Thoros wasn't taking any chances, so he stood his distance. Wiping his sweaty brow with one hand, Thoros scanned them with a tricorder in his other. It read life signs, although they were weak.

 

The ensign from security began to complain about a noise on the ship. Thoros strained his antennae forwards earnestly, but couldn't hear anything. Which was odd, since a lot of his senses were better than a normal human's. Just then Commander LoAmi asked if it was safe to beam them aboard. Thoros replied with a negative. He still wasn't sure if this actually was the ambassador, and he wasn't going to risk blowing up Arcadia.

 

As the other officer continued to complain about the noise worsening, Thoros' tricorder read that one of the life signs was fading. He stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do. His deep instincts told him not to go near them, that it could be a trap. On the other hand, Thoros didn't want the deaths of three people on his hands. Finally, as the life signs continued to slip, Thoros moved closer and got on his knees, checking for a pulse.

 

The ambassador blew up in his face. The small explosion was enough to send him flying across the small interior of the ship, hitting the bulkhead behind him. As he was beamed aboard, Thoros was still conscious. He felt himself slipping, his last thoughts wondering if he was right in his compassion, or if he should have gone with his gut. Not that it mattered now.