"Oi, oi, up she rises," Katlin sang hoarsely, gripping at the grass on the edge of the path. "Oi, oi, UP," with a grunt, Katlin hefted herself onto the last switchback. The bullet wound in her side gave a stab of pain and the world spun around her, so she paused on all fours for a moment, fighting rising hysteria. A gust of wind whipped the torn white wedding dress around her limbs, with a sound like snapping sails. She adjusted her grip on the hair of the head she carried. "Have to get you back to the Enterprise," she told the unresponsive head, with a giggle.
"And no biting," she reminded him, in a whisper. Katlin stood, knees shaking from the exertion. She took a step up the gravel path. "What shall we do with the drunken sailor?" she whispered to herself.
The wind was blessedly warm after the icy caves below. It tangled in her hair and seemed to push her up the path. She stumbled, keeping her eyes on the road before her. The wound in her side opened, and a blossom of blood bloomed at her waist, like a flower in her waistband. Gut-shot. Need help and… soon.
A muffled scream let her know she had arrived at the plateau. Katlin looked up from the path into the horrified faces of the away team. With a wide grin, she raised the head.
"I've got the Data," she said, collapsing to her knees in a fit of sobbing laughter. White-hot pain shot up her side, and she dropped Data's head and let it roll away from her. She wrapped her arms around her middle to try and stop the pain, still laughing. Warm dampness spread over her arms. "I've been shot," she announced, with satisfaction. Faces were blurry above her; she knew she only had a few more seconds of consciousness.
"Riker shot me," she chuckled, and lapsed into the dark.
