The Creeps, a startrek: the next generation fanfic

Hey there, Piccolo Sky here. You are about to read the "oddest" story I have ever done.

Last Christmas, as I was strapped for cash, I offered to write a short fanfic for my friend as a Christmas present. I let her pick the series and genre. She ended up picking "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and horror.

I was more than a little overwhelmed. I had never done an ST:TNG fanfic before, and I had DEFINITELY never done a horror before. But...I made a promise, and this is what I ended up coming up with.

Hope you all enjoy.

NOTE: The setting is between the series finale and "Generations". I hope I got the Stardate right for that.

"Captain's Log, Stardate 48011.1. The Enterprise is on a routine 'check-up' mission toward an archeological outpost on the moon of Panantros II, a Class N world with a civilization that Federation scientists have concluded aborted nearly 20,000 years ago while still at a primitive state of civilization. Past archeological research reveals the people of that world beheld a degree of reverence for their moon, and described findings that defy known science. Since then, it has been discovered by the Federation that the moon itself appeared to be a moon-sized starship from millions of years earlier that had since accumulated so much debris through its own gravitational pull it actually resembled a moon, leading to the foundation of Federation Science Division Outpost 199 as a permanent installation, allowing the 83 research team members to live on site and work continuously at excavation and research.

"Although this visit it purely a routine 'check-up' and supply drop, Starfleet has just advised the Enterprise that this outpost had been making daily reports for the past five months by transmitting to an orbiting satellite relay for subspace communications, ever since discovering a new chamber in the structure that appeared to be mostly preserved for at least 3 million years in Terran time, but stopped transmitting ten days ago."

Captain Jean-Luc Picard had not spent over seven years exploring the fringes of Federation space and dealing with everything from parasitic life forms that used humans as puppets to cybernetic conquerors who had added him to their "collective" to even satellite artifacts that had made him live 50 years of an alternate life in the span of ten minutes and not developed a sense of caution. The one "law" he had encountered countless times before in situations like this was that if anything looked out-of-the ordinary, especially in regions of space that were only partially explored and void from regular Starfleet contact, it meant something was wrong. This outpost didn't even see a starship but once every twelve months. And while there was a good chance it was something minor, Picard knew there was also a good chance there wasn't.

They weren't quite in communications range with the moon of Panantros II yet, and so Counselor Troi had not yet been called to the bridge. That left the more "standard" crew. Lieutenant Worf was doing his job well, already establishing communication with the relay satellite and forwarding the readouts it was giving to engineering for verification. Commander Data was already scanning the area of the planet's vicinity and the space between them and the USS Enterprise-D with a proverbial "fine-toothed comb". That left Commander Riker…who often seemed to either pick up on Picard's sentiments or share them nowadays. As the viewscreen ahead of them revealed the position of the relay satellite, he eyed it with the same degree of suspicion he might if he was looking for a cloaked Bird of Prey.

"Captain."

Worf's gruff, deep voice snapped Picard out of his thoughts, and immediately he turned his attention to the Klingon. He soon looked up and gave one of those "sighs" that indicated something was not the way he liked it.

"Engineering reports that the relay satellite is in full working order and operation. All protocol checks indicates full operation. Furthermore, the log indicates that it has not been accessed in 10 days, with the last transmission being the last report Starfleet acknowledged. The only item of note is that the coding has been changed for security of transmission. They seem to be operating on the classified channels for emergency broadcasts only."

That in and of itself was more than enough to pique Picard's interest. He gave a nod. "Thank you, Mr. Worf." He answered before turning back to the screen.

Riker likewise seemed on edge after hearing that. "An outpost like this would only switch to emergency broadcast protocol if it was under attack by a hostile force. But why bother switching to the emergency broadcasts if you don't send out a message? And who would be interested in attacking an archeological site? None of their logs indicated they found an OPA or any other resources…"

"Mr. Data," Picard spoke up as Riker trailed off. "Do sensors indicate any warp signatures, theta radiation, plasma traces…anything that would indicate the presence of a hostile enemy vessel?"

"Negative, captain." Data immediately responded. "However, I was just about to note that scanners have picked up an object on a drift course for our ship."

"On screen."

Data pressed a few buttons, and soon the view changed to remove the satellite, and instead revealed a small, odd, metallic object. Normally it was fairly unknown to the average layperson, but to a higher officer, it was something they would have seen before.

"A log buoy?" Riker asked rhetorically.

"Specifically, commander," Data corrected. "An emergency log buoy. Somewhat outdated but still used by certain Federation outposts as a way of broadcasting information if all other communication sources are deemed compromised. Their utility lies in launching themselves in the direct path of an incoming Starfleet vessel, which logically the outpost alone would know the trajectory and time of appearance of, assuming regular scheduling."

Picard studied it momentarily. Now things were getting unusual.

"Mr. Data, are we in sensor range of the outpost yet?"

"We are, sir."

"Are there any signs of a battle?"

"No sir. No evidence of plasma or photon discharge." Suddenly, however, his voice changed. "…Wait one moment sir. We are now entering range for scanning for life forms."

For a moment, the android went about carrying out the next level of scanning. Picard waited patiently in response, and after only a few moments, he knew there was something. As stoic as Data could be, he did have that "look" about him when something was amiss.

"Captain…according to the records, the moon is lifeless save for 83 researchers. However…I am scanning no less than 1,358 separate life forms within the area of the outpost."

Picard and Riker exchanged a glance, and both of them knew that this was definitely not going to be a "routine" mission. After a moment, Picard gave a new order.

"Mr. Worf, ensure that the log buoy is not concealing any explosive or other 'trap' weapon, and then bring it into the docking bay. Mr. Data, continue to scan our approach. The moment that anything that appears to be an enemy vessel or other phenomenon appears, prepare to evade as necessary. In the meantime, place the ship on Yellow Alert until we've finished establishing contact with Outpost 199."

It didn't take too terribly long to arrive at the destination after this. After all, there was only so far one of these log buoys could travel, and based on the distance from the planetoid, it had been launched no more than two days ago although the analysis was proceeding. The buoy had been recovered by now, determined to be clean, and then brought on board. Currently it was moving into engineering. Unlike most communication systems the Federation used, this one required mechanical control as opposed to signals. A bit "archaic", but also effective as it ensured no one could simply "hack the lock".

That left Picard and the rest of the crew on the bridge with the matter at hand of the planet itself. The Enterprise had currently shifted into orbit and was right above the actual site of Outpost 199. Data's readings had only grown more unusual. Although it seemed recent solar flare activity was making the "finer points" of life scans unsuitable, the count had climbed to nearly 5,000 now that they were close enough for resolution. To be perfectly honest, the captain wasn't sure they would get any transmissions back…and if they did, what they would be.

Lt. Commander Troi had taken her own place on the bridge, and the ship had settled into standard orbit. That meant it was time to proceed. For a moment, Picard thought of holding off and checking the data on the log buoy first. Obviously, there had meant to be a critical message sent to them under an emergency situation. However, no emergency broadcasts had been made on any channels, including the coded ones. Neither had there been any broadcast warnings. And aside from what was going on in terms of the life readings, no sign of any potential threats were anywhere within the sector.

Finally, Picard began again.

"Mr. Worf, has the planet attempted to make any contact with us since our arrival?"

"None, sir. But all relay sensors indicate the communications equipment is fully operational."

Picard paused momentarily, calculating over this, but finally gave the order. "Hail the outpost."

Worf said nothing, only sent the transmission. Everyone watched the planet slowly rotate on the viewscreen for a few moments, waiting for an answer. As it turned out, they didn't have to wait too terribly long.

"Sir, Outpost 199 is already responding from the Chief Researcher's personal terminal."

"On screen."

A few controls later, and the view came on. Had Data had a moment to insert a comment in edgewise, he would have noted that, based on the readings, they should have seen a room full of life. Instead, there was only a more "standard" viewpoint, a look at a work desk for a Federation research office, and a single man seated there. By now, Picard had been briefed on the head of research for Outpost 199, Dr. Oaken, and knew a bit about his appearance from the bio. However, this was not Dr. Oaken. It was a lower-ranked researcher…and one who, at the moment, looked pale, dirty, and like he hadn't slept, ate, or changed his clothing in a long time. He also looked rather panicked, and was frequently looking off the screen to his sides. When the screen came on, he quickly looked back with a frightened expression, covered with sweat.

"Enterprise…? Is that you? It's really you?" He said in a panicked voice.

Picard didn't have to be too terribly intelligent to realize this man was definitely in a state of fear, and looked like he felt he was in mortal danger at the moment. Things had just grown far more serious. "This is Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the starship Ent-"

"Get me out of here!" The scientist suddenly cut off. "Right now! Beam me up! Hurry! If they find out I'm talking to you it'll be too late!" His look was desperate.

The captain was nearly taken aback by this response, but he managed to stay calm. "What is going on down there? Where is Dr. Harlan Oaken?"

"Didn't you hear what I said?!" The scientist shot back, growing almost hysterical. "Get me out of here! Hurry! It's almost too late! I can hear them! Dr. Oaken's dead! They're all dead! They…"

Suddenly, he trailed off.

"Wait…no…you can't beam me out… They can't get out of here! Listen, do what I say! You have to-"

Abruptly, the viewscreen terminated. The shot of the frenzied scientist was gone, replaced with only a view of the planet.

Picard immediately turned his head. "Mr. Worf?"

The Klingon pressed a few controls, but then shook his head. "Transmission lost, sir."

"Sensors are still not running at maximal strength," Data responded. "But it appears as if the power to that sector of the facility was abruptly shut off."

Riker looked over to Troi. "Lt. Commander…?"

"I sensed heavy amounts of distrust for all those in the facility…and fear." Troi responded. "Very high levels of fear, enough to be detrimental to health. But there was something else-"

"Captain." Worf suddenly cut off. "I am picking up an energy reading from Outpost 199. It does not match the energy signature of any device known to be present at the outpost."

Data immediately looked to his own controls. "No record of this specific wavelength or form of energy being used is readily available."

"Captain…" Worf suddenly added. "It appears to be firing at us!"

Picard immediately looked back to the screen. Sure enough, a white dot of light suddenly appeared on the planetoid's surface…and readily began to grow first brighter, and then larger as well. The tell-tale sign of an energy weapon being fired upon the ship. Shields were up due to Yellow Alert…but there was no telling what it would do. And Picard had no time to tell Data to analyze the composition further. The attack was moving in too fast…

"Brace for-" Riker began to say…before the blast impacted them head on. Instantly, the entire viewscreen became filled with white…just as the rest of the bridge, and the Enterprise itself, went black as a surge seemed to overload every system there. The flash was left still coming, emitting a bright light so intense that it blinded Picard and everyone else…before he felt a painful jolt ripple through his body, seizing it violently. In spite of his best efforts, Picard, along with everyone else on the bridge, collapsed to the ground before the viewscreen itself went out, and the entire Enterprise was plunged into darkness.

Picard felt himself swoon, barely realizing that he actually hit the ground of the bridge with an impact only capable from a collapse. He lay there a moment, not sure what exactly happened, and swam almost out of consciousness for a moment or two. He honestly didn't know how much time passed that he was down there, only that he was surrounded by darkness and silence.

However, eventually, the lights on the bridge began to fire back up. As it was illuminated once again, it revealed the crew all lying on the ground in various positions. The only exception was Data, but even he seemed to have "locked up" temporarily. Still, much like everyone else, he appeared to be "rebooting". Soon after, Picard, giving a bit of a pained grunt, began to get back up. The others looked around a bit, and soon started to rise as well. After a few moments more, the screen itself came back on, once more highlighting the planet.

Yet even as everyone rose, the ship still had its problems. Some of the lights were flickering. "Default modes" on some of the configurable bridge displays were running. After only looking over everything for a moment, Picard quickly realized the ship wasn't operating at maximum power. However…first things first.

"Tactical. Damage report." He announced.

Worf grunted a bit, and then looked over his console. He soon frowned. "Tactical is only partially operative, sir. Screen reports numerous system errors."

"Same with the sensory arrays." Data announced. "Whatever weapon attacked us appeared to generate a power surge in nature through all electrical components on board the Enterprise…including myself. Currently my positronic net is reporting numerous small-scale errors. In particular, my personal sensory abilities seem to be limited to a 'default' mode and I will be unable to make non-mechanical sophisticated judgments until this problem is resolved."

Riker soon activated one of the communications relays. "Engineering. Mr. LaForge, what's the report?"

"I don't exactly know how it happened, commander," The chief engineer's voice soon responded. "But whatever attack just hit us seemed to have caused a 'hiccup' in the warp core. It's registering a few system errors but there were enough backup systems installed to make sure there were no severe problems. The output is a bit strange, but we aren't in any danger. Aside from that, almost every engineering team is reporting minor problems. Lighting failures, holographic errors, a few door controls not working… Nothing too severe on its own but all together a mess. We'll get to work on it right away, but…it's going to take some time."

"Understood." Riker answered.

As for Picard, he was already focusing back on the task at hand. "Mr. Data, can you locate the source of the beam?"

"Negative, sir." Data responded. "Although sensors are now operating at non-nominal capacity, there is no further sign of the energy wave produced. Furthermore, there are no life forms or power readings now coming from Outpost 199."

This aroused Picard's attention as well as Riker's and half of the bridge's. "…Destroyed?" Riker asked.

"Negative, commander. The facility appears to be fully intact for the most part. No major external trauma or damage."

No small amount of confusion went through the bridge on hearing that. Picard was the source of some of it. "…Are you certain about that, Mr. Data? Even accounting for the sensors?"

"Affirmative, sir."

Riker looked to the captain soon after. "They can't have just disappeared into thin air…especially not with that many life readings in one spot."

"How long was the Enterprise out of contact with Outpost 199?" Picard immediately asked.

"Backup crystal timers reveal no more than fifteen seconds, sir."

Now confusion was definitely flaring. Where had they gone? More important, what was that weapon that just attacked them? And why? After a moment, he looked up on deck. "Mr. Worf."

"Aye, sir?"

"Red Alert. I want shields at maximum at all times until we can determine what transpired." He soon activated the control for communications himself. "Engineering, barring any potential system-wide errors that could crippled the Enterprise, I would like priority to be granted toward restoring sensors first and decoding the transmissions on the log buoy that we recovered as quickly as possible."

"Aye, captain."

"Mr. Data, continue your sensor sweep of the planet as systems become fully online. Report any anomalies, however trivial, at once. Forward your findings to my office. I'm going to dig a little deeper into the records of what Outpost 199 was excavating here. Unless any major crisis presents itself before then, we will rendezvous in the briefing room in two hours to present whatever findings were uncovered."

With this done, and the bridge beginning to turn to their tasks, Picard paused to look over to Troi and let out a small exhale. "Well, lt. commander…unless you can provide any further insight, I will have to apologize for bringing you up to the bridge before dismissing you…" He stated a bit grimly.

Troi shook her head in response. "No. The only thing I can tell you was that there were great amounts of fear coming from that officer. The kind one would only feel if they were surrounded by lethal danger…almost like an animal in a trap, if you can believe it."

Picard regarded this momentarily, but then gave a nod. "Thank you, lt. commander. Dismissed."

Troi nodded, and then turned to begin to exit. As for Picard, he moved to leave as well, but before doing so he turned to Riker. "Commander, you have the comm."

Riker nodded back before turning to take over, and Picard began to look to the turbolift himself…

"Wzzzwzzz…"

Suddenly, however, he stopped in his tracks. He had suddenly heard an odd noise…a bit quiet, but still clear and distinct. It almost sounded like a cicada of some sort…mixed with a buzzing. Most of all, however, he heard where it had come from.

Lt. Commander Troi.

Immediately, he looked up to her, but saw she was still leaving and nearing the turbolift. His face turned into slight puzzlement.

"…Lt. commander?"

Immediately, Troi stopped and turned back. "…Yes, captain?"

Picard stared a moment. "…Did you just say something?"

Troi held a moment, but then shook her head with a puzzled look of her own. "No, captain."

He kept looking. "You didn't…just make an odd noise?"

Troi continued to look puzzled, and a few other crewmembers looked up to Picard slightly as well at this. "…No, captain. Why do you ask?"

Picard hesitated a bit longer, but then shook his head. "Nothing. Either I'm not used to hearing this ship with so many glitches or I'm starting to hear things in my old age…"

About an hour later and Picard still couldn't help but feel puzzlement. He tried to devote his focus to his own research into Outpost 199. After all, he had to admit, assuming what he had heard was real, why would Troi have made such a noise? Yet it couldn't have been that. No human could have made that sound. It had to have been part of the bridge's electronics reacting to the surge, although, for the life of him, he could never remember ever hearing any sound like that before, regardless of how many battles or strange phenomena he had ever taken the Enterprise through. Plus…it didn't even sound mechanical in nature. It sounded indeed like an insect…and something large as well. The more Picard thought about it, the more he realized he actually had felt just a hint of tension on hearing it…

Yet he pushed that thought away as best as he could. Surprising as it had been, it couldn't be anything more than just his ears playing tricks on him. Right now, his eyes were going over the terminal in his office, trying to determine any clues as to what might had happened.

Unfortunately, the readout had little to share. All reports had been very routine and, to be honest, fairly mundane to someone of Picard's background. Considering all of the "new life and new civilizations" he had encountered over a period of seven years, a dead ruin of a civilization, even one that apparently made use of a planet-sized ship, was far from the most incredible thing he had ever seen. But what made it worse was the age of this civilization had ruined most of the electronics and circuitry and fossilized anything with organic components. The end result was that the planet/ship itself was mostly a fossil. In addition, the researchers had mostly been excavating only the outer layer for some time. They had been attempting to find any area on board the vessel that had been sealed or preserved with the intent of gaining more information from it. That was why the uncovering of this latest chamber had been so important. They had hoped to find something that had been preserved.

Picard exhaled a bit as he reached the end, scrolling back up and looking over the screen again. There was nothing useful to be gained from the abstracts. He could look at the more detailed reports, but that would take a lot longer than another hour. There wasn't anything terribly remarkable about this civilization. Humanoid…basic sentient individuals…societies similar to most of the others in the Alpha Quadrant. The ship size seemed to be the only matter of note. And since it was indeed a ship, they did not advertise a great deal of the culture "on the outside". About the only item that showed the slightest bit of interest was noted in one of the last reports. They said some of the deterioration indicated a conflict and damage as opposed to age, which meant…

The captain's thoughts suddenly aborted as he looked at the screen.

Abruptly, a part of it seemed to "break off"…forming a large centipede-like insectoid which immediately began to crawl along it. It was colored perfectly like the screen, as if it had been camouflaging itself as part of it until now, and then moved on from there.

Picard actually gave a start to suddenly see the insect crawl, and barely kept from giving a cry of alarm. He blinked, his brain registering the creature, and looked again to it to try and get a better look at what it was…

And saw nothing. After blinking, it was gone. All that was left was the screen, the same as before.

The captain hesitated and blinked again. He looked around a bit. Only now was his brain fully realizing what he had seen…and he was so stunned that he immediately began to look around his monitor and desk, expecting to see the creature in question crawling about. However, there was nothing there. Nothing on the desk, nothing around anywhere…nothing at all.

Picard hesitated a bit before only slowly easing back into his chair. He looked back to the monitor, but it seemed to be a perfectly flat screen. No sign of any insect of any kind. Perhaps he had imagined it… It was possible, after all. The Enterprise was still "glitchy". His lights had flickered a time or two, and he had to give his standard order of Earl Grey tea to the dispenser twice before it brewed it. It's possible the screen shifted a bit from a glitch, and his mind had played a trick on him and made him think he had seen something crawling on it.

Then again…

If it had indeed been a camouflaged insect…it might have just hidden itself again in a new spot, like an octopus would.

That's ridiculous. Picard told himself. I can see the depth on the screen and it's flat. The creature would have to be flatter than a piece of paper, and it definitely had volume when I saw it…or thought I saw it. I'm just jumping at shadows.

The captain came to this conclusion…but nevertheless continued to sit there and stare at the screen. Time slowly ticked by.

After a moment…he finally reacted.

Very slowly, he began to lean forward, and raised his hand to the screen. He began to reach over to touch the spot where he had "seen" the insect last…and as he grew near, he could feel distinct anxiety moving through him…

Picard nearly jumped again when the door signal went off, indicating someone there. He actually snapped to the door momentarily, before exhaling and leaning back. He was a Starfleet Captain, for goodness sake. He shouldn't be indulging in such childishness. After a moment more, he called out. "Come."

The door slid open, revealing Commander Riker. Immediately, he walked up to the desk. "I just wanted to update you on our progress on the bridge, captain." He stated as he came to a stop before the desk. "I hope I didn't interrupt anything."

Picard felt puzzled by that response, although he hid it. "…Interrupt?"

"It's just I'm normally accustomed to you responding more readily when I call, sir." Riker answered. "…I wasn't interrupting anything, was I?"

Picard immediately shook his head. "No, Number One. What have you found?"

"Unfortunately more questions than answers. The pulse that struck us may have been unknown, but our sensors still detected it. And a pulse with enough power to actually disrupt the systems of the Enterprise had to be ionic in nature and would have left a quantum signature of a sort, at least according to Commander Data. However, we've found no evidence of any such phenomena in this entire sector. As far as sensors are concerned, they're still coming back online, but each new sweep reveals the same thing…nothing. The oddest thing is there's no sign of any activity that would have come from Outpost 199 itself, let alone the planetoid."

The captain hesitated for a moment, thinking this over. In the end, he gave a nod. "Very well. Are communications up and running?"

"Yes sir."

"Send a message to Starfleet reporting what has transpired since our arrival at Panantros II."

Riker nodded in response. "Also…one other thing, captain."

Picard looked up a bit at this.

"Engineering reports turbolifts are only operating at about 12% capacity. They suggest either minimizing travel in them or using the emergency bulkheads."

The captain let out an audible sigh at this, but nodded. "Very well. Dismissed."

Riker nodded again, and then turned to depart. As for Picard, he leaned back in his chair as the door opened and shut again. He looked once more to his display monitor. For a moment…he thought of attempting to touch it again. However, he pushed the thought out of his mind soon after and simply resumed his research.

One hour later, and the briefing room was filled. Picard had his normal position at the head, and in addition to Riker, Worf, and Data, LaForge had joined them temporarily, although he cautioned that there were so many problems running rampant throughout the Enterprise that he couldn't stay for very long. The engineering crew had already readjusted to pull double-duty schedules, and the more time went on, the more "little problems" were discovered.

"At this point, we probably won't be back to full capacity for at least a week." LaForge stated glumly. "Even to insure that all problems are cataloged and all major systems are working at nominal power without issues should take anywhere from another 48 to 72 hours."

"How vulnerable to an attack are we in that time?" Riker asked.

The chief engineer sighed in response. "…Since we don't even know the full extent of the problem, it's impossible to say unless we do a trial run 'Red Alert'. The best I can say is that we should be fine for a couple hits and trading fire, but after that I can't guarantee any of the batteries or relays won't erupt and leave us without phasers or shields."

"I am still experiencing technical difficulties of my own, captain." Data cautioned. "Currently, my positronic net is only able to process extra information of digital nature. Several of my sensory systems are still offline."

"Forgive me, Mr. Data," Picard responded. "But so long as you are not hampered from performing your duties, I'll have to ask you to 'bear with it' just a bit longer considering how tied down Mr. LaForge is at the moment. On that note, are there any new updates?"

"None, sir." Data responded. "Although sensors have been restored to partially-nominal levels at this point, they have turned up no signs of energy discharge or any life-forms. From this range, I can safely conclude that unless some mechanism is somehow negating our sensor sweeps, there are no life-forms within a distance of 500,000 kilometers of Outpost 199. Yet even if sensors were fully online, there is a 96.891% chance that nothing new would be uncovered. The standard course of action at this time would be to beam down."

"Normally I would be in full agreement, captain," Riker added. "But in this case, I would have to advise against it. There's still little to no indication of what exactly happened after that pulse hit us. And based on what we saw as well as Lt. Commander Troi's assessment, I think it's safe to assume that something bad was happening at that outpost."

"Which brings us to the next item of note." Picard responded, turning to the chief engineer again. "Mr. LaForge, what did you learn from the buoy?"

Again, the Lt. Commander made a grim expression before explaining. "Unfortunately, captain, it seems as if the researchers really didn't want that information falling into the wrong hands. On breaking the mechanical lock, I found the bulk of the data was quaternary encrypted. Only the oldest records were available to be decoded. I passed those along to Commander Data."

"Analysis reveals that the researchers did indeed enter a chamber that had been sealed and preserved." Data responded. "Further research revealed it to be an 'isolation chamber' accessory to the ship's docking bay. It is likely that such a region was used to isolate specimens brought in to decontaminate or quarantine before release to the science branch of the ship. They believed they had found the area for biological samples when the logs end."

Riker immediately looked to Picard. "That might explain the life-form readings… Suppose they found an intact specimen inside that 'woke up' and infested the outpost?"

"Species able to remain in a state of dormancy on the order of millions of years have been recorded in the past." Data responded. "However, if that was the case, then the mystery remains of how they too were able to disappear so suddenly within the span of fifteen seconds. No teleporter known to Starfleet has that manner of capability, and even if it did there was no sign of any other ship in the sector capable of beaming out that many life forms, nor a warp signature to indicate they would have arrived, beamed out, and then left again. Again, I state that the only way a solution might be found is to beam down to the planet. Although there are no life-forms or organic signatures to indicate a vector if there is a case of viral or bacterial infection, I would normally volunteer myself in this case. However, as my own sensory abilities are partially offline, I cannot do so in good faith."

Picard thought for a moment longer, musing over this influx of data. After a moment, he looked to LaForge again. "How long before you can crack the encryption, Mr. LaForge?"

The chief engineer shook his head. "Even with the computer at full operational capacity and devoting all of its processing power to it…about four months. In our current state, it's impossible. However…it's possible that if the facility is even somewhat intact, the encryption key should still be on the outpost's computer."

"Why go to all the effort to launch the log buoy where we would find it…and then make it impossible to crack open…?" Riker mused aloud.

"This entire situation hints at something more serious than an alien infection, Number One." Picard answered. "Which is why I'm not too eager to move forward too recklessly. Mr. LaForge…continue prioritizing restoring sensors online. Mr. Data, as soon as sensors are back to nominal levels, proceed with your sweeps. You both have four hours. If we cannot recover anything more at that time, we will begin preparations to send an away team equipped for a biohazardous outbreak. Until then…Mr. Worf, we remain on Red Alert."

"Aye sir."

Picard nodded, and looked back to the group. "Dism-!"

The captain cut himself off and gave a visible start this time, snapping backward at what he saw. As his eyes had gone back over the assembled officers, his gaze had seen Riker.

And, for a moment, he thought he saw one of his eyes swivel "outward", rolling so much it seemed to nearly go back in his skull…while his lips pulled back to reveal a mouth filled with inhuman teeth in an oversized jaw.

It was gone in an instant. The eye went back and the lips returned over the jaw, which was once again normal. Instead, his look was confused, as was much of the others, as they saw Picard pull back and react in sudden fear and shock.

"Captain? Are you alright?"

Picard blinked a few times, still looking tensed up. He swallowed after a moment, and slowly calmed down…but this time he didn't just "push the matter aside". One time was mere chance. The second was a coincidence. This was the third time he had seen something unusual…and, frankly, frightening. By now, he was growing distinctly uncomfortable and anxious. He began to wonder if the event had impacted him somehow… If it had affected all electronic devices, then perhaps it had interfered with his heart…although he wasn't exactly sure how that would have impacted his mentality or perception.

At any rate, by now everyone was looking to him curiously and with concern. After a moment more, however, he exhaled and began to straighten up.

"Number One…you have the Comm. I'm going to be paying a visit to Sickbay."

This caused a predictable reaction from Riker, but it lasted only a moment. He gave a nod. "Aye sir."

"Everyone else…dismissed."

As it turned out, Picard couldn't even go to sickbay. With the turbolifts out and the ladders clogged with traffic, the only place he could really go was to his quarters and await a medical officer. A bit unconventional to say the least…and unnerving. He had the idea he would have preferred the walk to "clear his head" a bit. By now, he knew Riker and the others had to be suspecting that something was wrong. And now…he was beginning to think something was indeed wrong. It was incredulous enough to think that what he had just seen had been real. But even if he could accept that, at least from his perspective, it had been real, then everyone else should have seen it…or at least one other crew member. None had.

As it turned out. Dr. Crusher was able to make the personal "house call". On arrival, she went right into his office and conducted an examination. He didn't tell her immediately what he had seen exactly…just that he had been experiencing mild "hallucinations". Of course, that in and of itself was a stretch of the truth. Picard had hallucinated before…and these were far more vivid than anything he had seen yet. He could still see the ghastly expression on Riker's face in his mind's eye…

The examination was soon done. Letting out a bit of an exhale, Dr. Crusher withdrew and began to put her equipment back in her medkit. "No problems, captain. Aside from elevated levels of anxiety and tension, I can't find anything wrong with you. Although I'll admit…if you've hallucinated on three separate occasions, I'd say that's definitely a point of concern."

Picard exhaled as he stared ahead while she put her things away. "It's not like I've been terribly stressed as of late, doctor. I'm still eating well and getting to bed at a decent hour. I'd almost want to assume some sort of neurotoxic gas was released when the ship temporarily had its 'hiccup'…but that doesn't explain why everyone else on the bridge isn't feeling the same way."

"Exactly." She answered as she got out one more device. "But just to be thorough, I'll do a blood scan for any toxins. There's a chance that something impacted you alone."

The captain hesitated a moment, but then gave a nod. A moment later, Dr. Crusher emerged with a palm-sized device for drawing blood samples. Unlike the larger syringes in the past eras of mankind, only a few drops needed to be drawn, and could be done so quickly and efficiently with these devices. Picard held out his arm and began to draw up his sleeve just enough to have the doctor "stick" him. Soon his forearm was exposed, and Dr. Crusher moved for it…

Right as two extra, pointed fingers sprouted from her arm and thrashed about, giving out a loud noise.

"Wzzzwzzz!"

Picard nearly shouted in alarm as he snapped back and away from the doctor. Had his chair not been mounted, he would have either slammed it into the back wall or knocked it over. His face went stretched with fear again, and the doctor immediately pulled her arm back in surprise. She snapped her head up to stare at the captain.

As for him, he panted for a few moments as he looked again. Crusher's hand was normal again…the same as always. There was no sound save for his labored breathing. However, he could still hear that buzzing ringing through his ears. It had been louder this time. His heart was still pounding.

After a moment, she spoke hesitantly.

"…I take it you just had another one of those 'hallucinations'."

Picard didn't bother answering, only continued to calm himself. He didn't need to bother responding, however. After a moment, the doctor approached again, moving back to his forearm. This time, as she reached out to touch it, he actually did recoil for a moment out of instinct, before he exhaled and relaxed. Still…he made sure to look to one side as Crusher removed the sample.

"Jean-Luc…" She continued, her voice more 'personal' now. "I may not be able to tell you the cause of your hallucinations right off the top of my head, but I have enough of a background to recognize something when I see it. I don't think I've ever seen a reaction that strong outside of someone who is on a heavy neurotoxin. If this was any other situation, I'd say that you wouldn't have a good grasp of reality right now. But since you're lucid enough to be talking to me…"

"Dr. Crusher," Picard cut off, softly but firmly. "At the risk of sounding rude…if I had the slightest idea what was causing me to have these hallucinations, I would not have requested a medical examination."

The doctor paused momentarily, but then nodded. "Right… I'll analyze this right away. Until then…my recommendation is to get some sleep. It seems all of these incidents are occurring when you're engaged in some sort of cognitive activity, whether commanding on the bridge or research or at a meeting or focusing on causation. It might do some good to give your mind a rest. If anything goes wrong, just place a call to Sickbay."

Picard considered this a moment as he reached up to roll down his sleeve, but finally nodded. "Duly noted, doctor. And…" He paused momentarily, and spoke slow. "I will likely take you up on that offer after I've taken care of a few more things."

Crusher seemed a bit perplexed by that answer, but she gave a nod before turning back to her medkit and began to load her last few things. As for Picard, he watched her a moment, and then turned back to the terminal at his desk. He looked over it a moment, silent and staring, as if considering something. As Crusher fastened the medkit and turned to leave, he suddenly spoke up.

"Computer…perform a life form scan on board the Enterprise of all non-laboratory/science-branch individuals."

Crusher immediately turned on hearing that. As for the computer, it responded fairly quickly.

"Life forms compromise exactly 1025 separate individuals, all of which are registered and 1012 of which are standard crew and passengers."

Picard slowly exhaled after hearing this, leaning back in his chair. He continued to stare at the screen…but he could feel Crusher's gaze on him, staring at him. There was a long period of silence.

"Captain," She said more firmly after a moment. "I don't think I need to explain to you how hallucinations only become dangerous when the one experiencing them starts acting on them as if they were real."

The captain exhaled slightly. "…Shields may have been down for fifteen seconds. Something could have been beamed on board in that time."

"But that just confirmed nothing was."

Picard was silent in response.

"…I repeat my recommendation that you get some sleep, captain." Crusher added after a moment. "…Don't make me change it into a medical officer's order."

The captain held momentarily, looking back up to the doctor. Yet after a moment, he gave a silent nod. The medical officer continued to look uneasy for a moment, but finally nodded back, turned, and began to leave. A moment later, the door had opened and closed again.

Perhaps Beverly is right… Picard thought to himself as he sat there. I can't dismiss these hallucinations…but I have no reason to believe they are anything more than hallucinations. There isn't one bit of physical proof in that regard. And regardless of the situation at hand, if I take the bridge in the state I am now, it's only a matter of time before Riker will have to relieve me of duty temporarily… This might not be the first time that something has impacted a crew member specifically…but until I have some evidence to that effect, I should just follow her advice…

Exhaling again, Picard rose from his seat and began to walk over to the door to his inner chambers. The whole incident was having one profound effect, to be sure. It was exhausting him. He could use some rest before he tried to tackle anything else. Besides, Riker was running things on the bridge and once the blood work came in, he was sure he'd have an answer. He reached the door, activated the control, and watched as the panel slid aside.

He turned a shade pale soon after.

Four rather monstrous, spindly legs, like that of an enormous spider, were draped over the bed, extending beneath it. And unlike all previous hallucinations, they didn't fade right away. They remained right on the bed for a few seconds. Only when the door was fully open and light had been spilling on them for a short while did they slowly retract and pull back under the bed. After that…nothing.

Picard didn't move. He continued to stare at the bed.

It was some time before he could do anything.

The four hours seemed almost like a prison sentence.

Picard definitely wasn't going to try and sleep now. He went back to his chair in the office and tried to do something to pass the time. That wasn't easy. There was no more research to do, and, by this point, he was afraid looking over the screen would have another hallucination. From time to time, he thought he heard the "wzzzwzzz" sound from his room…and always from his room. In spite of himself, he found himself having the door not only shut but locked from his side only an hour into the waiting.

It didn't remove the problem completely. As Picard sat and practically counted the minutes, every so often he would feel a shadow from overhead, and would look up just in time to see a large, cruel-looking insect crawl over the light fixture and into the other side. This was pretty serious for a hallucination. If he was imagining it…why did he "imagine the shadow" first? Something was definitely wrong. All of his hallucinations had a "theme". But if something had happened as a result of the pulse…why was he the only one experiencing it? The only other crew member who seemed to be negatively impacted was Data, and his case was typical as he was an android. What was happening to him?

He didn't know. All he knew for certain was the reactions were getting worse…

At the end of the four hours, he wasn't sure whether he should be eager to take over the Comm or nervous. He was seeing hallucinations regularly now. And Dr. Crusher had to have logged in her own report what had transpired. Even if Riker hadn't bothered reading it yet, Data had no doubt received a log of it. For all he knew, they had been discussing the matter behind his back the whole time. It wasn't as if he was "adjusting" to the hallucinations either. Each one that popped out seemed just as vivid, real, and startling as any of the others. He knew he would have a reaction if he saw it again. In fact, he was more on edge than ever, expecting it to pop out at any time.

Right before he rose to leave, he heard that sound from his room again…just as fearsome as ever. The only thing that unnerved him more is that Crusher had returned the results to him of his latest round of extensive blood testing a moment before and found nothing wrong with him. So what was happening?

At last, he made his way to the bridge and relieved Riker of the Comm. Trying to remain as settled as possible, he eased into the Captain's Chair and heard the results of the latest report from Data.

"Sensors now have full functionality restored within tolerable levels. No sign of organic life is present on the site below or within this entire sector. All artificial energy readings are coming from us, sir."

Picard took a moment to stabilize himself on hearing that, and then spoke further. "Has there been any word from engineering?"

"No sir. No progress has been made at this time and engineering reports that this does not look likely to change. 'Brute force' methods are not showing much success. I might be able to assist in that endeavor, captain. It seems the computing power of my positronic net is still functional even if I cannot go on the away team."

"That's assuming there will be an away team, Mr. Data." Riker answered as he turned to the captain. "Orders, sir?"

Picard held for a few moments. In truth, this mission was perplexing enough, but with what had happened to him recently it was about the farthest thing from his mind. He was able to start thinking again after only a moment, however. He had to make sure to keep his mind on this, after all. The lives of crewmembers could be at stake. And this was a bad enough mystery in and of itself. No doubt, it had been causing Riker just as much tension as his current condition. In the end, he finally issued an order.

"If we cannot discover any more using sensors, then we have no choice but to have a more direct approach. Number One, assemble an away team utilizing Class 4 Biohazardous procedures and conduct an investigation of the area. Begin with the area where the last transmission was made. Mr. Data, proceed to engineering and see what you can do to assist in the efforts to decode the buoy. Make it so."

It wasn't for another hour that Picard made a visible jump. He was lucky almost everyone on the bridge was either an ensign or absorbed in their work at the time…but one officer in particular spotted that reaction, because he had prompted it.

Picard had tried to focus on the mission at hand, awaiting updates from the status of the away team. Riker, Crusher, Worf, and two ensigns had ended up beaming down to begin a sweep of the area. Crusher was sent in case of any medical trouble while Worf had gone down as a security measure. The other ensigns were more of the science branch, specializing in biology and archeology, respectively. They had gone down rather quickly. Forty minutes ago they had teleported, and the investigation had been ongoing since then. There was only time for one regular report in that window, namely the first one announcing a successful arrival, and the Enterprise was monitoring them now for any changes.

The ensign that had filled in at communications had just turned around to give Picard the news that the away team was hailing them. However, Picard had barely paid attention to the message itself.

That was because when the ensign had given it, his head had swiveled around one hundred and eighty degrees to look at him when he gave the message, and he had sprouted insect-like mandibles with yellow, burning eyes. When he spoke…it was in that "wzzzywzzy" tone he had heard until now, and it was enough to give him a start back in his chair.

The image only slowly faded this time…the monstrous features retracting to slowly reveal the puzzled face of the ensign looking back at him. Yet the fear still remained. Picard could still see it in his "mind's eye" overlaying the ensign's face.

"Captain? Are you alright?" He asked.

Picard had pushed himself back into the seat, as if trying to crawl back. And this time, try as he might to calm himself down, he couldn't. He breathed in and out a few times, trying to steady himself, but his heart was only slowly relaxing. As his bearing nearly came back again to respond, however…he heard something buzzing in his ear…like a whisper.

It made words too.

"We're all around you."

Picard actually let out an audible gasp, nearly bolting in his chair…before the buzzing faded, and a more calm, even tone came back curiously from behind him.

"…Captain, is something the matter?"

The man blinked a moment, and then snapped his head to the sound of the voice. He soon found, among the other puzzled crew members, a rather confused-looking Data was staring back at him.

The unusualness of him being there was enough to actually calm Picard a bit and think more clearly. He soon leaned up slightly. "Mr. Data…I thought I sent you to Main Engineering."

"You did, Captain." Data responded. "However, as you know, the turbolifts are non-operational. As for the maintenance access, I was only able to descend to deck three before I found the maintenance shaft was being worked on, and there were no other access points to descend further, all either sealed for maintenance or a precautionary measure."

Picard blinked a few times, and then exhaled as he leaned up again. He gave a nod to Data almost halfheartedly, and the android began to return to his station. Picard himself rubbed his temple a bit. Had he been in a less frightened state of mind, he might have questioned the priorities in engineering. With the turbolifts and shafts both out, essentially a portion of the ship was isolated from the rest…

"…Captain?"

Picard looked up at that, and found himself again looking at the ensign.

"…The away team's message?"

He nearly wanted to smack himself. Immediately, he nodded. "On speakers."

The ensign turned back. A moment later, static went out before Riker's voice came on. "Repeat, Riker to Bridge. This is my fourth attempt."

"Bridge." Picard stated, nearly sighing. "What's the status, Number One?"

"This place is a ghost town, captain." He responded. "No life of any kind here and no bodies. No signs of damage, either. As for the equipment the researchers had, most of it is still here…and looks like it was used until recently. Everyone seems to have just up and disappeared."

"Is there any indication to what their research was doing?"

"Nothing that would suggest an energy weapon, but there is one thing interesting. Most of the research terminals here are coded and locked just like the log buoy. However, the locks seem to be in place from a bit later date than the buoy itself. The newest record we can access is from approximately 132 hours ago. It turns out they did find intact specimens within that case as well as still functional technology. The best we can assess is that there was a single creature in stasis that appeared to be similar to Earth centipedes."

Picard's jaw nearly dislocated. His pupils shrank.

"…Repeat, Number One. What was the creature like?"

"Earth centipedes, sir. Only this one was about as long as an adult male's spine. There's no sign of it or any of the crew anywhere though, sir. The last entry we can find indicates the researchers were more interested in quarantining the creature itself until they could do a better analysis of it and decode the alien computers."

A strange, eerie connection was beginning to form in Picard's mind. There was no question all of the "hallucinations" he had seen were of an insect nature…in particular centipede. The scientist they had talked with on screen had clearly been frightened and feeling he was surrounded by something as well. And all of this only took place after the pulse from the station had hit the Enterprise…

It still makes no sense, though. Picard thought to himself. There are still too many holes. Why am I the only one experiencing these hallucinations? How was something isolated to that outpost able to reach here and penetrate shields? Where is that weapon or device and where are the researchers that must have fired it? What about the life readings? Too many questions and not nearly enough answers…

"Tricorder readings indicate the area is safe, captain." Riker continued. "Permission to relieve biohazard procedures?"

"Permission denied." Picard readily answered. "Continue your investigation, Number One. If there was no way to beam off of that facility, then logic suggests the answer to this entire mystery is still there. If you require additional personnel or resources, they will be granted, but I want you to find the source of that pulse and what happened to the researchers."

There was a lengthy pause on the other end, but then an answer. "…Aye, sir."

Picard soon activated another control. "Engineering." He called out.

"Yes, captain?"

"Since sensors are now back online, I want all priority to shift to two items of note: decoding the buoy and seeing if we can't rebuild anything that happened in the incident where we lost power for fifteen seconds."

"That's a tall order to fill, captain. Especially now." LaForge responded. "As I was afraid of, the multitude of system errors led one of the coolant systems to the Warp Core going offline and if we don't power down a good part of the ship and focus on fixing it, we could look at an overload. The constant brownouts were too much for it."

Picard actually stared a moment, before suppressing letting out a groan. "Mr. LaForge, forgive my tone of voice, but do you mean to tell me that these 'small malfunctions' have accumulated enough to actually-AAH!"

The captain suddenly shot up from his chair and shook his left hand furiously…for he had another hallucination. And this time, it was neither his sight nor his ears…but his sense of touch. Abruptly, he had felt something touch his hand on fine points. And when he looked down to see what it was in mid-speech…he found a cross between a walking stick and a beetle…yet about half of his forearm in size, crawling along his hand.

It was gone now…but the captain's panic hadn't alleviated. He had actually felt that…as clear as any other touch. And he was fairly certain that no one who wasn't on heavy amounts of a hallucinogenic drugs had ever 'imagined' something like that crawling on them so distinctly they could feel it before they even looked at it…

He had been suspecting this for a while, but now the thought was clear in his mind.

What if he wasn't imagining these things?

Or if he was…what if his sanity was breaking?

Picard almost didn't even hear people calling out to him this time, although all those on the bridge were now gazing at him and watching him, and giving out voices of concern. By now, his heart was racing too much and his mind was too lost. He had to find an answer to this. He had to find it now…before it was too late. He wasn't sure how much more he could take.

Finally, he managed to get up and out of his chair. Swallowing once, he soon called out one final word.

"Mr. Data…you have the Comm."

Without saying any more or responding to the inquisitive look and words of everyone else, he marched off of the bridge.

There was really only one option Picard had at this point, although he wasn't sure how much it would help. He was convinced all of this had something to do with the mission, although for the life of him he couldn't think of what or how it would be possible. The log buoy was the only article from Outpost 199 that had made it on board, but assuming that it had been host to something and that it had somehow gotten through the sensor sweeps "clean", how could it have gotten to the bridge and targeted him specifically?

Picard didn't know…and frankly was losing his ability quickly to think of why. As he walked down the halls, he kept seeing more. Every so often, he would see the "tail end" of some monstrous insect pull into a wall panel. Many of the ensigns moving by would have their faces turn monstrous and give him ghastly grins. By now, he heard the buzzing sound continuously, always sounding like it was right on the other side of the walls. Each power failure or malfunction seemed to frame another one of the horrific creatures. He even thought he saw something he could only describe as a "demonic wasp" buzz past his head. All of his senses were being assaulted now. As he walked past some areas, he swore he could smell animal waste of some sort down passages or corridors.

The feeling of being "trapped" was even worse. The engineering staff only seemed to increase on the deck, and all of them were working on doors, bulkheads, the turbolift, or anything else that kept him from progressing beyond the same few decks. He almost felt like he was in a cage at this point…

And so he did the only thing he could do and went to Troi. After all, she was still the ship's counselor. If he was experiencing a mental malady, then he doubted she could help that much. But seeing as Dr. Crusher couldn't pin down what was wrong with him, it was worth a shot.

Unfortunately, even that was a stark reminder of what was going on. He couldn't make it to meet with Troi at her own quarters or in the Seven-Forward. He had to settle for his own chambers again, and once more sat at his desk. Naturally, he heard that sound again a few times from his room. He felt like checking it more than once…but he wasn't sure whether he would feel better or worse at what he saw in there… It didn't help that the door made the same sound as the buzzing from before when it slid open…this time almost seeming to have a message on it…

…Kill you…

"You've told Dr. Crusher about all of this?" Troi asked when Picard was done explaining everything. He wasn't facing her. He didn't dare. He didn't want to be looking at her and suddenly have her face turn into some abomination. He might have not been able to control what he felt or heard or smelled, but he could at least not see things that would drive him into more panic.

"During her examination, I did." Picard responded. "But things have only gotten worse since then. I'm a bundle of nerves at this point… The next time I call Dr. Crusher, it will probably have to be to sedate me."

There was a pause from Troi. "…Normally I'd say to avoid that, but…all things considered, captain…"

However, he cut her off with a sigh, closing his eyes and putting his hands over his face. "That's just it, lt. commander… I don't want to risk being sedated."

Another pause from her. "…'Risk'?"

"Based on the report from Dr. Crusher on my bloodwork and what's been going on, I'm afraid that this isn't a simple case of hallucinations. I can only really narrow it down to two options… Either I've suddenly began to lose my mind completely…or there's something tangible about these hallucinations. Something real. Something tied into what happened on Outpost 199."

"I'll admit…you're beginning to look more and more like that science officer…" Troi mused aloud. "You told me even we look 'monstrous' from time to time. It would explain why he was so distrustful… But captain, there's no way you could have contracted anything from Outpost 199."

Picard exhaled a bit. "…There is one way something could have gotten on board. That fifteen second window. Perhaps it was just the 'luck of the draw', but after that energy weapon struck us, whatever was below in the outpost was able to beam something on board to the bridge, and I just happened to be unlucky enough to receive it. But it doesn't explain why my blood work is clear, why the doctor wasn't able to find anything wrong with me physically, and why all of the life readings at the outpost disappeared in a heartbeat or what became of the weapon that struck…"

The captain trailed off. The lights overhead flickered…and one of the centipede things began to crawl over the light. He stiffened.

"Counselor…I think it's happening again right now…" He managed to say in spite of his fear.

No response. However, soon another one of the centipedes crawled over the fixture. The buzzing was heard overhead. Picard swallowed.

"Counselor…"

Then…Troi's voice came back…but distorted and buzzing…

"Itthinksitthinksitthinkstoomuchitdoesn'tknow…"

Two more of the creatures crawled overhead. From beneath Picard's chair…he thought he could feel things in the cushion. Swallowing, Picard closed his eyes.

The voice grew louder.

"Thinksitclosesitseyestheygoawaybutwe'reherewe'rehungryfeedusfeedusfeedus…"

He could feel an insect crawling over his hand. Soon after, he felt darkness close in on him…like the lights went out. The voice leaned in closer.

"Thinksitcantrustusbutwe'reallhereallwaitingallhungrysohungrysoveryhungryfeedusfeedussssfeeduzzzzfeeeeeuzzzz…"

Picard swore he could feel a presence coming closer to his head. Troi? It seemed so…but smelled like something rotten…and he knew as soon as he opened his eyes it would be something horrific. He felt more things crawling on his arms…and then on his other arm. They began to go into and out of his lap, their spindly, pointed legs poking him again and again.

The presence felt closer. The air turned moist. The buzzing grew louder…and he felt a new shadow come in front of him…the shadow of Troi.

"…wzzzzbzzzzwzzzzbzzzzwzzzzbzzzzLOOKATUS!"

Without conscious will, Picard instinctively snapped his eyes open…and saw a mass of horrible, smelling, slimy insects dangling in front of him, looking at him with glowing red eyes…and dangling the fleshy remains of Troi's face like a grotesque mask in front of him.

It was good that Picard didn't have a phaser at the moment…because he would have fired it immediately. As it was, his fist shot out and smashed into the wave of insects…scattering them everywhere…making them swarm over his hand…

Before they were gone, and Troi, fully human an intact, gave a cry before she spilled back and fell to the floor. She clutched her face in pain.

Picard himself was white as a sheet. His heart was pounding and sweat was rolling down on his brow. He could still feel the thousands of tiny legs rolling over him. He could still smell that horrible aroma in his nostrils. And now, as he looked at Troi…and as he slowly calmed down…he felt shock at what he had just done. However, it was only for a moment. After that…he continued to stare.

Troi, on her part, shook her head a bit, and then looked back up to Picard again. Soon after, she started to draw herself up. "…Captain, I think it's safe to say that your hallucinations are getting out of hand. Now might be a good time to call-"

"You were in front of me."

Troi blinked a bit as Picard cut her off. However, he continued to stare at her.

"…You were standing in front of me, leaning over."

The lt. commander blinked. "…Of course I was. You were in a daze and you weren't coming out of-"

"Why would you have been leaning over me? Why didn't you call sickbay?"

Troi rose to full height, continuing to look confused. "In another second, I might have. Captain…you're not honestly thinking that-"

Picard turned his head away from her. "Leave now." He stated firmly.

The woman went a bit wide-eyed. "Captain…try to think more rationally… You're starting to act just like that-"

"Leave!"

Picard suddenly snapped back to her, his face growing angry…looking possibly even violent. Troi seemed taken aback by that. After a moment of pause, she nearly raised her hand to hit her comm badge. Yet as soon as she did, Picard zeroed in on her like a hawk, he looked like he'd spring from his chair, over his desk, and lunge for her if she tried.

"…Jean-Luc…"

"Lt. Commander…are you honestly going to tell me that after all your years of counseling and your abilities as an empath that you would have read so much fear and terror coming off of me and still would have leaned over in my face like that?" He shook his head. "I'm smarter than that. Get out of here now. I won't ask again."

"Please-"

"I have an emergency phaser in the wall panel just beside me, Troi. Let that be my final warning."

Troi went a bit wide-eyed. However, after a moment, she finally gave a nod. "Alright…but I'm reporting this to Commander Riker and to Dr. Crusher and they're going to be in here soon. I'm sorry, captain…if you're acting like this I'm sure the commander is going to have to relieve you of command."

With that, she began to back off, keeping her back to the door and her eyes on Picard, clearly not trusting him with that wild look in his eyes. She soon reached the door, and reached out for the controls to open it. She slipped out soon after.

As soon as she was out, Picard gave a call. "Computer. Shut and lock the door to my quarters. Scramble the code to captain's access only."

Troi tried to protest, but the door shut in her face before she could. As for Picard, he felt a bit more empowered now. Even if what he was doing felt like madness…it had one good effect. Reacting in anger and with more "decisive" moves banished some of his fear. As soon as the door was shut and locked, Picard turned to the wall panel. He quickly moved over to it and pressed the hidden control to slide it open.

As soon as it opened up…a hissing, spitting, vile insectoid creature was in there, roaring and snapping at him.

Picard glared at it only for a moment…before shooting his hand out and seizing it by the throat. It tried to bite and sting him, but he didn't care. He grabbed it and clenched his fist with all the force of a wild man…until he heard the exoskeleton begin to break. Soon after, it gave a screech…which faded along with it as it vanished into thin air. However, the buzzing in the walls began again.

Now…it sounded angry.

But Picard only let his own anger fuel him and override his fear as he went in, seized the phaser, and powered it up to the "lethal" setting.

What small part of Picard's mind was still thinking rationally realized he was acting crazy…but he couldn't help it. At the bare minimum, his latest chain of behavior seemed to keep the "monsters" away.

There he sat in his quarters with the lights barely on. With them effectively off, there was no way he could see anything crawling over the fixtures. He had also cut off the communications to his chamber the moment that Riker himself had come to the door and began to call through it. If he couldn't hear the other members of the crew, he couldn't have their voices turn monstrous. All that as left was the buzzing…which never fully went away now. It oscillated up and down…and always it was angry. The insects seemed "mad" that he had "killed" one of them. Their tiny voices seemed to convey both hate as well as ravenous hunger. His bedroom let out "growls" from time to time, and he heard monstrous scratching against the doorway every so often, like something very large was progressively clawing its way through it…

Picard's eyes rarely blinked. They stayed focused on the doorways. The phaser was gripped so tightly in his hand that it was cramping. He wasn't sure what he was waiting for. A part of him thought to shoot the first monstrous thing that came through the door…but enough of his rationality was still intact to tell him he was talking crazy. He had no proof of what was going on, and even if he did…what then? Was he going to try to kill every crew member that came in just to check on him? What if this was all in his head? What if it was just the hallucinations just acting worse? There was nothing to say that he wasn't just imagining everything…or at least the victim of some scheme by a malevolent force…

However, there was one fact that kept him from fully dismissing his current mindset. His door remained shut and locked. There hadn't even been banging on it, let alone any engineers trying to cut it open. Perhaps there were still plenty of problems left. Goodness knew he had seen them working enough… But when the captain barricaded himself in his room? That was a more serious condition. Yet no one had responded yet…and that only made Picard more uneasy.

It wasn't as if a short time period had passed, either. After the first hour, the captain was a bit on edge but alright. After two hours, he grew a little suspicious. But three hours later…no one had tried to open the door yet, override communications, or anything else. It was enough to seriously get Picard believing something was wrong. He tried to look at the computer terminal in his office at last, but only saw that everything hadn't changed. The away team was still gone, which at least explained why Riker hadn't returned yet…the buoy was still uncoded…and the workers were still everywhere. In fact…he noticed that there had not even been a notification of his current status on general alerts. He supposed Data might have been keeping it quiet…but somehow he doubted that as well. Not only that, but the away team had been down for three hours, and had yet to request more personnel, resources, or make a single report showing progress or lack thereof.

And on top of it all…the infernal buzzing…always there…along with the scratching…scratching…

Picard nearly winced as he heard it again…before he realized he wasn't hearing it at all. He was hearing the inner machinery in the door lock. It was disengaging. He immediately snapped to the door at that, just in time to hear the machinery begin to slide it open. His mind, addled as it was, only half rational, and even lifting the phaser to it…nevertheless realized quickly what had to be happening. There was no way the engineers could have gotten in without cutting out the lock. They couldn't override his order. The only one who had the capability of doing so was one crewmember…

Sure enough, in the light of the hall, he soon saw the silhouette of Data standing within the door.

The captain didn't fire, but Data didn't seem to wait at all. He immediately stepped inside and then reached out, typing a new, sophisticated code on the door lock, and immediately shutting it again. Picard reacted with some alarm at that, especially when he noticed that no one else was in the hall behind him. No one was "sending Data in" or waiting to see his results. Not even any of the security detail…

As for Data, once inside the room, he focused on Picard…seeing him pointing the phaser at him.

"Captain, I will have to ask you to lower the weapon and allow me to approach you at this time. I have invaluable information regarding what you are experiencing."

Picard didn't move. He continued to stare at him, keeping the phaser out. "…What is it?" He asked after a moment.

"I'm afraid in your current state I cannot tell you." Data responded. "You must trust me enough to do one thing first."

Picard still didn't change. "And what one thing might that be?"

"That too I cannot reveal at this time. It may be a matter of life and death."

The captain stiffened. "…You aren't giving me much to 'go on', Mr. Data."

"True. Correct me if I'm wrong, but you are currently beginning to believe the hallucinations you are seeing are not true hallucinations but have some basis in reality. Am I correct?"

Picard hesitated momentarily, but then nodded.

"And you believe that crew members may be involved in this as well at this point? Or, at minimum, individuals who only appear to be crew members?"

Again the captain paused. "…It's insane sounding, I know. I have little to go on other than a few idiosyncrasies. However, as mad as my behavior seems…it's the only course that has felt 'right' since this matter began."

"I understand sir. It is what people phrase as…'intuition', yes?"

Normally Picard would have been fine having one of these discussions with Data, but seeing as he still heard the buzzing and a scraping against his doorway, he only gave a curt nod. "Yes."

"I believe your intuition is correct in this case, sir. If you will trust me for just a few moments…I will prove it to you."

Picard held a bit longer. To tell the truth, he only half-believed something was up with the crew. The phaser was merely a precautionary measure…or designed to drive them out and give him some measure of peace. Yet the way Data was reacting… He knew the android was capable of making "miscalculations" or "exaggerations" if he wanted to subvert someone or something. And yet…there was something here that gave him some measure of trust for the officer. He realized, ever since all of this had begun, he had never once seen Data display any "monstrous" characteristics…

It was enough to shift his balance. With that, he swallowed once…and then lowered the phaser and let it touch the desk. After a moment, he removed his hand from it. He left it to the side of it, but he didn't grab it again.

Data calmly walked forward at that, coming right up to Picard. He felt his tension rise, and when his tension rose…he thought he could hear the buzzing and scratching more than ever. However…the android himself remained the same, and so in spite of tensing up he did not move. After a few moments, Data reached his side…and kept going a bit farther. He went until he could look behind him. When that happened, he reached out with his hand behind Picard's back. For a moment, the captain nearly stiffened or called a protest, but Data moved too swiftly to argue.

A second later…he felt needle-like stabbing pains…or closer to "nail-like" poking all up and down his spine with what felt like flesh pinching and pulling behind his neck. He actually gave a cry at the sudden pain, and nearly seized to do something about it…

When it ended, and Data came back out with something that made him forget all about the pain and snap back.

In his hand, a bloated, cruel, twisted-looking centipede-like creature, almost the length of Picard's spine, was making small buzzing cries and thrashing about angrily in Data's hand. Some of its bulk coiled up and seized his arm to try and pry loose, but it was no match for the android's strength. A moment later, and Data manipulated his fingers…seeming to snap the spine of whatever the thing was…and immediately it went dead.

Picard gaped at the now-dead thing in Data's hand. Yet as he did…he became aware of more changes. He still heard the buzzing and the scratching now. In fact…he heard it continuously now, sharp and clear. Not only that, but he didn't hear the ship's engines or "background noise" any longer. The room was silent save for it…something that Picard hadn't experienced in a while…

As for Data, he proceeded to toss the dead creature aside, and then quickly came forward and around the desk, moving to Picard's terminal. Once there, he immediately began to interface with it and started to access files at rapid speed. Picard looked to the dead creature on the ground, and then back to the android.

"Data…was…was that…?"

"I'm afraid I do not know the whole story, sir…but I'm also afraid that it grows worse than you think. That creature was attached into your spinal cord with mandibles inserted into your sensory portion of your hindbrain. My best guess is that it was manipulating what you experienced over the past several hours."

Picard continued to stare at it nervously. "…Why would it have wanted me to see monstrous and terrible things? Was it attempting to drive me insane?"

Data finished his work, and then looked to Picard.

"Your assessment is incorrect, sir. The creature was not attempting to show you frightening images. It was attempting to make you see the Enterprise and its crew behaving normally."

The captain's eyes widened on hearing that. Before he could inquire further, however, Data dropped his voice.

"I am not certain how secure this room is or who, if anyone, we can still trust, sir…but I calculated based on the amount of repair work logged, the engineering staff available, and relative times that we should have completed sufficient repairs to allow stability of the Enterprise at a far lesser time than Mr. LaForge indicated. Knowing him to rarely make errors of that magnitude, I proceeded to go to engineering to conduct repairs of my own sensory systems and was refuted. Hence, I retired to my own quarters and accessed the files in Main Engineering to log a request, and in the course of doing so I made a discovery. There was a deleted record of the log buoy being fully decoded shortly before the pulse hit us and all of its information uploaded."

Picard again reacted in surprise, before Data turned to the console and pressed a button. Soon, images of the researchers at work in the lab on Outpost 199 were played in an old footage film, showing them loading a creature that looked a lot like the centipede that Data had just killed into the laboratory.

"To prevent accidentally awakening the specimen, the researchers attempted to relocate it into the labs in the outpost while conducting further research. However, one of the less experienced researchers ended up believing the organism to be dead after so long and prepared preservation measures. On doing so, the organism abruptly reanimated in mid-preparation and escaped into the air vents."

The video changed to show the researchers with tricorders moving around the outpost, all of them looking rather haggard and tired, none of them seeming like they had slept long.

"The researchers went to work trying to track down the specimen and seal it in, but they discovered that the creature was making its way into food storage areas and eating quickly. Before long, they found it could reproduce asexually and sexually, and laid up to a thousand eggs in each sitting. Specimens they found were promptly killed, but they located no more than two dozen, and more were arising all the time and hiding in wall paneling and ductwork. For two days they attempted to locate it, but then, abruptly, the tricorders showed no signs of life, and the head researcher called off the attempt to root them out just prior to asking for Starfleet assistance."

The video changed again, beginning to show a montage of various frightened, nervous wrecks of individual researchers making personal logs. As they did so, the buzzing in the room ebbed and the scratching ceased, but Picard hardly noticed.

"The main log of the outpost is relatively mundane at this point. However, it seems that whoever launched the log buoy included a number of personal logs. They're remarkably similar. Each one of these researchers was subject to progressively growing fear and anxiety. Each one claimed that they were seeing the centipede creatures still in the walls, crawling in and out. They also claimed that certain fellow researchers would display characteristics of these giant insectoid creatures from time to time, with progressively increasing propensity. Eventually, this subset of researchers seemed to find their way to one another as a group they could 'trust', and at that point entered a mutual agreement to keep their fears and activities to themselves. At that point, they continued to conduct the research as always…but kept their results private. Here is the main recording of interest."

Data pressed one more control, and the view shifted to a straight recording of several panicked, nervous researchers in one of the biology labs. Most of them looked like they had armed themselves with surgical tools or any heavy objects they could find and were blocking the doors. One, however, was transmitting.

"To whoever receives this message…I urge you to please read all logs within the buoy before going anywhere close to Panantros II, and then only with shields at maximum power. The researchers at the station are not to be trusted. We believe they have been slain and replaced by a hostile alien parasitic lifeform which we have just concluded our investigation on."

He stepped to one side, revealing one of the dead creatures, fully dissected and having been examined extensively.

"These creatures reproduce extremely quickly and are able to shift their hox genes to create insect-like creatures of incredible size and variable body parts, and will expand to a plague faster than a tribble infestation. However, they are colonial in nature and especially hostile to sentient life. Our research has uncovered that the creatures are capable of attaching directly to the spinal cord and hindbrain of humanoid hosts and achieve a euphoric 'high' from adrenaline that they leech in these positions. To try and keep their hosts in a state of sustained, long-lasting, and escalating fear without becoming aware of them, they manipulate human sensory perception to seem as if everything is safe while periodically 'lapsing' the effect in order to let the hosts see something frightening and therefore keep them in a constant state of high anxiety until the host either dies of fright or they can gain no further adrenaline from them…at which point they kill them.

"The most dangerous attribute of these creatures is that their interfacing with the brain of a sentient creature has allowed them to 'leech' intelligence and pass on the characteristics to the other members of their colony. They're getting smarter and more clever…approaching true sentience of their own. We assume the other members of their colony gain the same benefit by 'connecting' to the parasite, transmitting both the adrenaline as well as information. We fear now that they have grown so smart that they have learned to manipulate their mental influence to hide themselves as members of our research team and are impersonating them. Worse yet…these 'fake' researchers are currently going deeper into the planetoid and are trying to bring the ship's weapon systems back online.

He grew more nervous looking yet as he stepped forward again while the others continued to panic.

"Our fear is that these creatures were the true cause of the extinction of the race that lived on this world. Perhaps they managed to 'take them with them' by moving the planet's orbit and creating unsustainable situations for life for them…but they still had the one in stasis. And now it's awake…and can't be allowed to spread any farther. By the time anyone reads this, I'm not sure if we'll be dead or kept alive to feed off more of our fear…but the only ones who are still who we seem to be are the researchers gathered here and possibly a fistful of other personnel…but it's too late for us. Please fire as soon as in range on Outpost 199 and destroy it. Do not risk getting within hailing range. I'm not sure if they'll have the weapons back online by then…"

The transmission terminated. Picard was still wrought with fresh fear and anxiety…and yet he kept his composure. The greatest thing he feared, like most of humanity these days, were things they did not understand. And now that he understood the situation more, the "logic" part of his mind was becoming more active.

"…So they managed to bring their weapons back online, and, as a result, they managed to infect the Enterprise somehow?" Picard answered.

Data's look was still rather morose. "I'm afraid it's far worse than that, captain. When I went to Main Engineering…or, rather, attempted to…I noticed the workers at the turbolift were doing repetitive actions that were neither making the problem with turbolift controls better or worse. I also noted the lack of updates from the away team, the seemingly repetitive tasks of the bridge crew, Commander LaForge not making any time in his schedule to restore my sensory abilities, and numerous other inconsistencies. I ended up taking the matter into my own hands as best I could with what limited tools I had present in my quarters. And soon I made a discovery. None of my sensory systems appeared to have shorted out. Rather…they were deactivated and false alarm messages were sent to my positronic net that they had been fused or otherwise damaged."

Picard didn't like where this was going…and he could feel it in his chest as his heart began to accelerate.

"Finally, I decided to take matters with the main computer into my own hands. I discovered that most of it had been modified or locked out with 'null' messages. However…one thing I could confirm had been tampered with that was corrective was the current log time clock for the Enterprise. It had been rewound by a considerable margin."

The captain felt a chill. "…How long was the Enterprise actually offline, Mr. Data?"

"By my best estimate…7 months, 11 days, 25 seconds, sir."

Picard's face registered visible shock, his unease fully returning. He sat there gaping in disbelief of what Data had just told him for a moment. Suddenly, he turned and looked to the phaser on his desk. Immediately, he snatched it up, set it to maximum, and then aimed it at his starship model across the room. He pulled the trigger…

Nothing.

Seeing that was all the confirmation Picard needed as to what had been going on for seven months… Tossing the weapon aside, he immediately began to rise.

Data, however, rose faster. "Captain," He stated. "I believe the creatures had a hard time understanding a being of my nature, which is why they merely reprogrammed my sensory detection ability rather than deactivated me or replaced me. However, since I have partially restored my own sensory function…I have not been able to confirm a single other crew member on these decks aside from you. Forgive my curiosity…but if their intent was to kill other members of the Enterprise and take it over, then why-"

"Food, Mr. Data…" Picard coldly cut off, trying not to hide the trembling in his voice. "They want me to be in fear so they could feed off of it… Are there no weapons on board the Enterprise?"

"The security lockers are all on other decks, captain, as always."

Picard turned to him, his unease growing higher and higher. He moistened his lips, and then looked out to the door again. "…We need to get to-"

Abruptly, the buzzing burst out all around the two. And when it did…the walls literally began to fracture. Huge, nightmarish creatures on the others side flexed their strength and began to press and hack into it, bursting right through the paneling…including ones that should have been in space. But no alarms went off. No safety protocols…just the sight of the walls and ceiling coming apart as dozens of the monstrous centipedes began to crawl in, and legs and mandibles of even larger ones began to burst through.

They knew their illusion had failed…so there was no more reason to keep them alive.

Picard looked around in shock only a moment, before snapping to the doorway. "Data, the door! Hurry!" He stated as he ran for it.

Data quickly followed as something with six red eyes burst through the wall behind Picard's desk and slammed pincer legs down on his desk and chair, smashing it in moments. An even larger crab-like monstrosity broke the door down to his bedroom and began to squeeze itself through the frame, breaking it as it did so. As the entire captain's quarters began to turn into something out of a nightmare, Data reached the door, seized it, and used his enhanced strength to rip it completely open, lock and all. The hallway beyond had the lights dimmed and flickering…and the walls there were already beginning to shake as well from the movements of thousands of the monsters. But Picard ignored all of it and took off down the hall regardless. Data quickly followed afterward.

"Captain, what is our current course of action?"

"Main Engineering at once! Whatever these creatures are, they don't want us going there!"

Data didn't argue anymore but quickly followed. No one was in the hall to stop them now…although the walls were literally coming to life. As he ran along, every so often a panel would open, and hundreds of slimy, ugly things would scurry out. He would pass under a light fixture as soon as it went out…only to have a torrent of the disgusting things falling down underneath it. He almost called for the computer to shut down access to the hall, but even if that would work…he doubted it had the power anymore. He wasn't hearing any engines or power sources of any kind…and he didn't have time to worry about it either. The entire corridor behind him was ripped up as more of the larger monsters came out of it. Going past junctions in halls, he saw a few of the larger ones with stingers and venom-dripped mandibles hiss, making that horrible buzzing sound that seemed to hurt just to listen to, before running out. As he ran along…his fear increased…not just from the fact that the alien creatures were getting the idea to break out further along…but the fact that no one was there.

Seven months… What did they do in seven months?

At long last, the turbolift doors loomed ahead…and not a moment too soon. Already, two monstrous pincers had burst from the wall and were snapping out at anything that went too far on one side or the other. The question was whether or not it still worked… There was a good chance it didn't, but with the other decks literally coming apart from the things, there was no time to back up and look for an alternate path. Immediately, Picard charged right for the doors, narrowly missing one pincer…and to his relief, the doors slid open. Immediately, he went in, and Data came in behind him, just as another dozen of the monsters rained from the ceiling and nearly landed on him.

The captain turned back and saw the corridor look like a scene from Hell. It was impossible to even tell it was one the ship now…but rather a sea of smelly, disgusting, slimy, vicious little bits of life, all thrashing and crying and hissing.

"Main Engineering!" He immediately shouted out. As one of the things went near, in a miraculous turn, the doors shut and sealed. Soon, the turbolift began to descend.

For a moment, Picard caught his breath. He wasn't sure how safe this place was or where there going was, but it was something.

"Captain," Data announced. "Assuming we make it to Main Engineering, what will be our course of action?"

"I'm not sure, Data…" Picard admitted, truthfully enough. "But depending on the situation, if we really are the last two crew members…then we can only pray that the Main Computer still has enough functionality to recognize us as such and defaults to only needing two officers to trigger the self-destruct instead of three… There's no way we can pilot this ship or establish communication with another starship with the Enterprise infected, but perhaps we can-"

Picard was cut off, as both he and Data gave a "leap" within the turbolift. The captain himself was practically tossed into the air, and if he hadn't instinctively grabbed the support rail on entering, he would now have fallen to the ground. As it was, he had a rather painful jolt in his legs, and immediately he straightened and snapped around to the door, ignoring the trauma and looking out more fearfully than before. He knew why…but Data, who had been able to weather it far better, voiced his concern aloud.

"That was neither the emergency braking nor a standard stop, captain. We have landed on something."

The lights suddenly flickered…a sign the power was going out. On seeing this, Picard quickly went to the side controls and pressed the emergency release. Nothing. He tried entering the override. Still nothing…save the sound of buzzing growing louder again. Finally, he reached out and seized one of the doors and tried to open it. As he did so, Data, picking up on this, quickly advanced and grabbed the other, and the two of them found only a little resistance before ripping the doors open…immediately blasting them both with a damp, dank smell.

And making Picard's eyes widen in horror.

Light was very limited in that area. In fact, almost all of it seemed to be coming from the elevator itself. But since Picard's eyes had had time to adjust to the darkness, he could see rather well. The Enterprise definitely wasn't in space…or even landed. It was on a rocky landscape. He couldn't tell if it was on the surface of Panantros II or if it was beneath it…only that the ground looked rocky. Beyond that, he couldn't tell…for what looked like a colossal "mud dauber" nest had been constructed, seemingly out of rocks eaten, processed, and spat back out as a paste to construct a massive enclosure. It was easily the size of a building…probably larger and more extensive. Yet he could only see bits and pieces of the nest itself…shadows, even. All he knew was it was all around him…and that sitting on top of it was the creatures.

Some were the size of a shuttlecraft. Some were as long as the warp core itself. But all of them had little red eyes that "burned" in the gleam of light hitting them, and all of them were scurrying over each other. A big millipede one there. A series of what looked like "tree-sized" walking sticks over there. A colony of slimy, chirping roaches all crowded in one area…and it horrified Picard to see on what. He couldn't see what they were eating, exactly…only heard it crunching, wet and snapping. But they were piled on what looked like rotted human bones…

It was a rather large pile. There had to be at least a thousand there.

Possibly close to one thousand and twenty five.

Nearby there was a pile of shoes and uniforms…all shredded and stained, partially with matter from the insects…partially from human fluids. Yet next to that was the truly grotesque pile, adding a horrible stench to mingle with the foulness of the creatures. Apparently…the creatures only wanted to eat human muscle. Skin and hair they had no use for…and had piled it up right there as "neatly" as the pile of clothing…

Then, at last, in the dim lighting, Picard saw it. One insect-built wall nearby was lined with what looked like hundreds of hexagonal chambers. It was somewhat similar to a bee nest. However, all of their seals had been broken. Out of the hundreds present, stretching as far as the light could reach, Picard only saw three still intact. He couldn't see through the seal…but he could guess what was inside.

At once…it all became clear to him…even if it terrified him worse than any threat he ever encountered. It had been seven months…and during the seven months, they had either progressively devoured crew members…or put them in the same situation as he had found himself in. To confirm it, he ran out of the elevator just a short distance, enough to turn around and look back up and around him.

He couldn't tell too well due to the barely-existent light…but he could see enough to see the upper few decks of the Enterprise-D…and nothing else. Only the uppermost levels of the saucer section were inside this hive or cave, or whatever it was. And they had long since been wrecked and covered with grime and disgust. Creatures were crawling all over it, in and out of holes they had made in it before.

The Enterprise-D had indeed been hit by an energy weapon seven months ago…and this part of it had been all that had been "retained"…to act as a "stage" to carry out the plan. Make the crewmembers think no time had passed…and then progressively scare them more and more, so they could harvest their "fear" and feed it to the others for nourishment.

And now…he was willing to bet the creatures had decided he was "ripe".

Picard felt himself sweating freely now. Data had "ripped off the creature too soon". Now…he would have been giving them a Thanksgiving banquet. He whipped around back to the turbolift out of pure instinct…but that was futile. Even if it would have worked, the walls of the lift were breaking, and more of the creatures were crawling out. As they did, they hit the lights, and they began to flicker and dim…dimming the hive chamber as well and leaving Picard and Data in progressive darkness with only the sounds and smells of thousands upon thousands of foul creatures… There was no Main Engineering left to go to and now warp core to set to self destruct. Neither was there a Docking Bay with Runabouts or Shuttlecraft…or relays to call for help…or even send a warning. It was too late even to launch the Enterprise's own log buoy…

Data, just as at a loss for what to do as Picard, turned to him. "Capt-"

And that was all he got out…cut off by the sound of grinding metal and gears, before Data's head ejected and the rest of his body went into spasms. The source was a monstrous insect appendage pierced right through his torso. Picard gasped and recoiled as the body continued to twitch, although it shut down relatively quickly. And as it did, his eyes traced the source of the appendage to underground…where a monstrous leg had burst out from the dirt. Or was it dirt… Maybe it was just a layer of filth or shed scales on top of a body.

At any rate, a form began to raise from it. The buzzing around Picard grew again. He backed off, seeing the remains of his science officer… He could be repaired but…he began to fear no one would ever find him again. He feared if they would. He looked around again as the ground fractured and the massive creature beneath came out. Nothing. Nothing but darkness…and thousands upon thousands of burning, red eyes…reflecting the rapidly dimming light…all around him…all closing in to the sounds of wetness and slime and the buzzing…

All hungry.

He looked back…just in time to see the remains of his crew vanish into darkness as the turbolift's lights died…plunging him into this empty darkness…with no exit…no escape…surrounded by the things. They were like a sea of dim, red lights…but they too began to fade, leaving behind only darkness and their smell as they rolled in on him. He was able to see a faint outline of the largest insect as it finished emerging and turned to him, before the turbolift gave out a few last crackles and spits…and the darkness closed in on Picard…until it was only him in the sea of death…

The captain gasped. He nearly shut his eyes…feeling their breath on them and them beginning to reach for his clothes…his skin…to start to peel him as well…

Above the infernal, maddening buzzing…he heard but one sound.

"Computer, end program."

At once…they were gone.

No monstrous insects. No horrendous stench. No hideous piles of corpses. No remains of the Enterprise-D. No final darkness. Picard, his heart pounding, his body covered with cold sweat, his breath caught in his throat…found himself staring at the yellow-on-black "grid" that made up the Enterprise-D's Holodeck.

His fear abated…and gave way to total confusion. Soon, he snapped all around him, almost wildly…but saw nothing but the standard confines of the Holodeck. The archway was on one wall, but other than that…nothing. The ship's standard "humming" was going on, indicating the ship was in full operation, and everything was running smoothly. There was only one other item of note within the room.

Data was standing to one side, in one piece and quite undamaged.

Picard continued to snap around for a moment, and then looked back to the commander, his face still strained and panicked. "…Where are we?"

"On board the Enterprise-D, sir." Data responded. "The Stardate is 48011.3."

The captain didn't ease up that much. "…What about Panantros II? How did-"

"We are currently in orbit of Panantros II, captain. Commander Riker handled the situation per my request. All checks at Outpost 199 are normal. Supplies have been dropped off, and the last report is that we will be departing soon for the next stop on our route. However, they will wait for you to come on bridge. I notified them we were almost done here."

Picard was only more confused. "…Supplies? What about losing transmission? What about…"

"Communications with Outpost 199 have been perfectly clear, captain. The messages from Starfleet that they had abruptly aborted were only present in the program I designed."

Now…Picard truly froze. What Data just said began to resonate with him as he realized what had just happened…

"…Mr. Data…are you saying that us being in the infested Enterprise and being in that hive were all a holoprogram? A holoprogram you created?"

"Precisely, sir." Data responded. "Captain…what is the last thing you can recall before you went to review Starfleet's orders for Outpost 199?"

Picard hesitated a moment. That seemed like an eternity ago now. He bowed his head for a moment and thought. It took a few seconds, but then he remembered. During the interim while they were en route, Data said he wanted to show Picard a holoprogram he had built, and Picard had ended up walking into a program of a rather cheaply-made and childish haunted house that would have been around on 20th century Earth. Data explained he was attempting to study the nature of human fear…specifically why humans were "amused" when they scared one another, and why humans sometimes enjoyed being scared…

But that meant…

As the realization hit Picard, his anxiety began to evaporate…and was rapidly replaced with a more "hot-tempered" emotion.

"…Mr. Data, am I correct in saying that when I came into the Holodeck to view your 'haunted house' program…I never left?"

"Correct, sir." Data responded. "Part of my program was a 'false termination' signal to make you feel you had left the Holodeck, but you were actually entering an attached holoprogram that mimicked the Enterprise as well as the current mission. Since this was a mundane and routine mission, I figured it would be a good 'candidate'. I received inspiration for this in my research on horror themes, namely that many classic works of horror and terror begin with a similar setting to help confuse the audience into thinking the supernatural aspects are illusions, or that everything will 'be fine', as well as to explain character lack of belief in fantastic things. After that, I synthesized a scenario where you would believe a horrific phenomenon had transpired on the Enterprise in an attempt to scare you to see if the experience would end up being pleasant. Now…I am curious as to whether or not you felt the experience was 'entertaining' and 'enjoyable'. Was it?"

The question was asked with perfect child-like curiosity…but Picard's face was anything but 'entertained'. More 'red-colored' as his face turned to fury.

"Mr. Data, do you mean to tell me that you tricked me into coming in here, created this elaborate hoax to further trick me into remaining inside, all while living out a terrible nightmare straight out of a horror novel, and that you tricked me into thinking that the entire crew had been killed and devoured by alien parasites and that they were trying to feed off of my fear…all for the sake of trying to 'entertain me through scaring me'?! All without my knowledge and against my will?! Letting me be scared half-to-death all for this juvenile 'prank'?!"

Data blinked, looking very confused.

"…Sir, correct me if I am mistaken, but if you were aware that the entire situation had been an illusion, wouldn't you have not been scared at all…defeating the purpose of trying to scare you to see if you would be entertained by the experience?"

Picard didn't know whether to fume in rage or place a hand to his head in frustration. Right now, his nerves were so shot that he couldn't even give Data a proper disciplinary action. In the end, after calming himself down a bit, he spoke out in one of his more "severe" tones.

"I did not find the situation entertaining at all, Mr. Data. You are to refrain from any such activity in the future, or attempts to scare any member of the crew, especially against their will and without their knowledge. If you do so again I will have you court-martialed. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir." Data readily answered with a nod.

Letting out a tired sigh, Picard took only a moment to give Data one last dark look, and then turned away from him. "Computer. Door."

Immediately, the side of the Holodeck opened, revealing the perfectly intact, perfectly functional corridor beyond, with a few ensigns actually walking by. Picard paused there. He just wanted to get some relief from seeing everything in operation. Following that, he hit his comm badge.

"Holodeck to bridge."

Soon after, Riker's voice came on. "Captain, it's been a while. We were wondering up here when you and Commander Data would be done with that holosimulation. The supply drop has been made and Outpost 199 checks out."

"I'm on my way to relieve you, Number One. I'm sorry you had to manage without me for so long."

"If you don't mind me asking, sir…what was keeping you occupied for so long on the Holodeck?"

Picard frowned, turning to give a look to Data, and then looked forward again.

"Ask me again later, Number One. Right now, I do mind you asking."

He switched off the transmission soon afterward, and then looked back to Data again. "I think we've spent enough time in here, Mr. Data…and I, for one, will not be going to the Holodeck again for some time."

He turned and began to walk out. It would feel good just to be back on the "true" Enterprise. This little event would have his heart racing for the rest of the day…maybe even two. He was looking forward to nice, boring, mundane procedure for a bit while. Come to think of it, he wouldn't even mind a battle with a Cardassian warship after everything that had-

"Wzzzwzzz…"

Picard went as still as a statue. He stared forward for a moment in silence, his eyes as locked as the rest of him. After a moment, he turned around and looked back to Data, who had been following him out. He too stopped here, however.

"…Is something wrong, captain?"

"…Mr. Data, I believe I told you to refrain from trying to scare crew members from now on."

Data furrowed his brow. "I do not understand, sir. I didn't say anything."

Picard held for a moment more. "…You're not lying, are you, Data?"

The android shook his head. "No sir."

The captain continued to hold. He kept staring at Data…seeming to burn his gaze into him. He never moved at all, and Data, aside from looking curiously back, didn't move either. And so, he continued to stare…to watch…to wait.

After a full minute, however, he exhaled, turned, and, without another word, walked out of the Holodeck, into the corridor, and made for the turbolift to the bridge.

He tried not to look around as he did so.

He wasn't sure he'd like what he saw.