Free The Rings of Tautee by Dean Wesley Smith, Kristine Kathryn Rusch

smiles, but smiles nonetheless.
    The woman moved with both leadership and apology, as if she were accepting responsibility for everything.
    McCoy had seen Jim Kirk do the same in difficult situations. The leadership seemed to give the others strength, and the apology was an acknowledgment of their pain.
    McCoy smiled to himself and went back to his work.
    Her low voice soothed even him. Her touch with these people would probably help them more than McCoy could.
    He had finished with the man's arms and had just reached for the long gash when he felt a presence beside him.
    McCoy looked down. The woman was running her fingers over the man's healed skin.
    "Be careful," McCoy said. "It'll still be a bit tender."
    She looked up at him, her dark eyes intense and shadowed at the same time. "It looks healed," she said. Her voice was rich, deep, and musical.
    "It is," McCoy said. "But the memory of the pain remains for about an hour."
    A man came up behind her. He was as tall as she was. He put a hand possessively on her shoulder. She didn't shrug him off, but she didn't acknowledge him either. The man didn't seem to mind.
    Dean Wesley Smith and Kristine Kathryn Rusch She watched for another minute, then seemed to gather herself. She obviously hadn't come to talk about the wounded. She had come for something else.
    McCoy finished cleaning the gash, then pinched its edges together and mended the skin. The other man gasped[*thorngg'obviously this technology was beyond them[*thorngg'b the woman didn't. She waited until McCoy was finished.
    He glanced down at her, and she lifted her chin, clearly ready to ask her question.
    "I would like to speak to your . . ." The woman hesitated for a moment before finding the right word. "dis . . captain. Is there some way you can help me do this?"
    Suddenly the ship rocked and shuddered as another subspace wave crashed into it. The room seemed to rumble, and people fought to keep their feet. McCoy spread his feet and managed to remain standing over his patient out of almost sheer will. The woman in front of him also remained standing, while the man following her was knocked to the deck. Screams and cries resounded against the walls as wounds were reopened, and people fell.
    McCoy also sensed an undercurrent of deep fear. These people were afraid the subspace waves would kill them. They had a right to be afraid.
    And all reacted accordingly. All except this alien woman beside him. She withstood the shuddering and shaking of the deck as if it were only a passing annoyance and not important in the scheme of things.
    Almost as quickly as it hit, the shuddering 86 THE RINGS OF TAUTEE passed. The cries stopped, and the silence returned. The woman was still looking at him as if they hadn't been interrupted.
    McCoy cleared his throat. "The captain is pretty busy at the moment, as you might guess.
    I can take you to him later when things are calmer."
    "I think your captain will want to see me," the woman said. "I am the leader of these people. I also have information that might be helpful about the shock waves."
    McCoy nodded and glanced around. This room was under control. The survivors in the other cargo bay weren't as badly injured as the folks here. He needed to go to sickbay, to mend the broken bones and work on the serious infections, but he could take a detour to the bridge. It wouldn't take long, and it might turn out interesting.
    "All right," he said. "I'm sure the captain would appreciate the help. I'll take you to him."
    He put out his hand. "I'm Dr. Leonard McCoy."
    The woman hesitated for a moment, then put her surprisingly small hand in his, like a queen at a Regency ball. "Prescott," she said, and, indicating the man behind her, added, "This is Folle."
    McCoy nodded at her companion, and resisted the urge to bow over her hand like a courtly gentleman. Her strength attracted him, but her fragility and sense of loss made him protective. The man watched him warily.
    McCoy reluctantly released her