"Point of Deception" Part I of II
A TNG fanfiction
Based on Star Trek: The Next Generation created by Gene Roddenberry
Prologue
Come on, Tasha. Just a little further...
It wasn't that she was a bad swimmer. No; Lieutenant Yar was an excellent swimmer. And she would have been better if she could see which way she was going. She held her breath as she pushed herself through viscous, inky-black water. She could not tell which way was up or down. It was becoming more and more difficult to hold her breath in. Sooner or later she would have to let it all out. Terror gripped the young Starfleet lieutenant as she searched in vain for the surface...for that precious fresh air to breathe in.
Then she saw it.
The light.
Air!
She kicked hard, heading for the surface, toward that light. That precious light.
Then she felt something coil around her ankle and yank hard. She felt the thick, black water fill her nose and mouth as she was dragged down...
No!
She pushed with her feet and shot to the surface. Her head broke the water and...
"Lieutenant Yar, please report to the bridge."
Lt. Natasha Yar gasped in shock as Captain Picard's voice jerked her from her dream. She sat up in bed and wiped the cold sweat from her forehead. She had been having similar dreams lately, of drowning in murky water, or some variation of it. She had been thinking of talking to Counselor Troi about it, but kept putting it off, dismissing it as just a result of nerves.
She stumbled out of bed and hastily changed into her uniform. If the captain needed her this badly that he had to call her during her down time, something was definitely wrong.
A few minutes later, Tasha stepped onto the bridge and relieved Lt. Shay from the Tactical console.
"You all right, Chief?" he asked.
Tasha wiped her forehead again. "I'm fine, Lieutenant. Thank you." She dismissed him from duty with a small, subtle gesture. Captain Picard stepped out of his ready room onto the bridge.
"Mr. Data, report."
"Ship is of unknown origin, sir," Lt. Cdr. Data replied. "Warp signatures appear to be originating from the Telavi system."
"The Telavi system?" Tasha asked. "That's just on the border of Cardassian space. It could have been a Cardassian ship-"
"It's different from any ship we've encountered, Lieutenant," Commander Riker said. "Mr. Worf, show her what we found."
Tasha turned to the console behind her. Lt. Worf showed her a schematic of a strange ship that the Enterprise had apparently encountered only moments before. "This ship dropped out of warp a few minutes ago," he told her. "We are unable to determine who it belongs to."
Tasha took a good long look at the ship's schematic. "It could be a race we haven't encountered yet," Tasha answered finally. "That's the only explanation I can give. I mean, look at this design!" She pointed at the ship's hull. It was an odd shape, almost like a scarab beetle. The warp nacelles protruded from the sides, just where the 'shoulders' would have been. It had a very streamlined design, as if built for speed and maneuverability. "It looks like some sort of tactical ship, with a size and shape like that," Tasha continued. "How fast was it going?"
"Ship was traveling at Warp factor 1," Data answered.
"Warp 1? That's it?" Tasha asked. That was a strangely slow speed for a ship of that design. Maybe it was just patrolling the system...
"Sir, ship approaching from aft side, bearing 182 mark 3," Data said. "Warp factor 1."
Something rushed past the viewscreen. Tasha could just barely make out the shape.
It was the same ship from the schematic.
"Looks like they're heading home," Lt. LaForge said. "They're following the exact same route their warp signatures were making on their way here."
"Mr. LaForge," Captain Picard said, "Lay in an intercept course for that ship. Maintain Warp factor 1. We don't want to overtake them."
"Aye, sir."
Picard turned to Commander Riker. "It looks like we will be making another first contact, Number One."
"Course laid in, sir," Lt. LaForge said.
"Engage.