4. Buying time still requires judgment
Picard carries the scent into the corridors, drawing Worf away from the patients while Data concentrates on the retrovirus. The captain is not curing himself through courage but protecting someone who may be able to cure everyone.
The pursuit exposes how fragile the plan remains. Worf sprays venom onto Picard’s arm, causing him to drop his phaser. The captain reaches a damaged conduit and must improvise with the equipment around him.
Picard insulates himself on an access panel and sends an electrical discharge through the Jefferies tube’s metal framework. Worf collapses, ending the immediate pursuit without a lethal phaser setting. Practical observation survives alongside fear long enough to keep the rescue moving.
Data completes the retrovirus and releases it into the ship’s atmosphere. Recovery follows the medical breakthrough and the time Picard has purchased for it. Neither officer’s contribution would be enough without the other’s.
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