Chapter 2 - Desert Danger

Disclaimers in Part 1

10 minutes later

In the extreme desert heat the shuttle landed upright, smoking but in one piece. The surface of the planet is a scolding temperature and its occupants must escape the shuttle before they are baked alive. Dirgo rouses first and climbs the ladder to open the top hatch letting in the light from the distant star. Picard stood up next and quickly walked over to the console where Wesley was sprawled across the panel.

"Dirgo, I need your medical supplies. I have to tend to his injuries."

"If he's not able to move on his own he'll die on this God forsaken...'

"Mr. Dirgo...the supplies..." he repeated.

Picard pulled Wesley back in his seat as he stirred. He was more than relieved to see the timid light emanating from his Ensign's chest.

He wasn't sure where he'd procured the cylindrical prism charm, but it had become a staple of reading his emotions unbeknownst to Wesley himself, and he'd learned from Data that as long as it retained color, he was okay. Wesley's eyes snapped open as Picard began putting antiseptic on his cut. He pulled his hair out of the matted blood and examined the deep cut.

"It's so hot." he moaned.

"We have to get out of here and find shelter, are you sure you aren't hurt somewhere else, are you able to walk?"

"Yes sir. I'm okay " he answered quickly. Picard helped him up slowly straightening to an upright position.

"Ensign, please search for items to cover our heads with, we'll need some protection from the blistering heat."

Dirgo pointed him in the right direction as Wesley gathered supplies.

The captain emerged, from the top of the shuttle for the second time carefully turning to help Wesley climb out. They slid down the side and landed at the bottom. Wesley cringed as his feet touch the ground. This does not escape Picard as he glanced at him quickly and then turned to Dirgo.

Captain Picard had already used parts from the ship and fashioned an arrow facing towards mountains in the far distance.

"I'll carry the medical supplies. Captain Dirgo where are your food supplies, water..."

Dirgo shrugged his shoulders. " Here are some old phasers I found." he handed one to each of them. "This is not a galaxy class starship...I travel light, and carry what I need, everything else I replicate."

Wesley bowed his head, and instantly regretted it. The pain that lanced through his skull nearly caused him to collapse. He couldn't believe he and Captain Picard were stranded with this idiot. He used his tri corder to scan the area trying to ignore their voices. He slumped to a seated position in the shade of the shuttle.

"You mean we have no water Dirgo...no food...no way of communicating our location?"
Dirgo looked away towards the sun as Picard sighed heavily. He noticed Wesley studying the readings on his device. He squatted down beside him.

"Anything Ensign?"

"I'm getting a high frequency modulation from those mountains sir. "

"We will head in that direction then - towards those mountains."

"What? Have you lost your feeble mind? it's too far away...we'll die before we make it "

"Captain Dirgo, this desert will fry us if we don't. The mountains will offer us shelter and possible a source of ..."

"This is my ship and my voyage it's not your decision to make."

"If you want to get out of this mess alive you'd better listen to Captain Picard." Wesley said scrambling to his feet and jumping into Dirgo's face.

Picard surprised by his Ensign's defense stepped between them.

"Thank you Mr. Crusher." He patted his shoulder as he pushed him away.

"Yes sir." Wesley continued looking at his tricorder.

"Captain Dirgo, if you have another idea I am open for suggestions." Dirgo shrugs his shoulders.

"I will take the lead, Wesley you follow, Captain Dirgo will you please bring up the rear?" Dirgo only grunted.

Away they went trudging through the sand, their fearless leader looking as strong as ever leading a steady pace through the lumpy sandy desert. They marched on for more than an hour the sun beating down on them in excess of fifty degrees Celsius, sweat pouring off their faces.

As the mountains became less than halfway away they became more hopeful a respite was near. Dirgo slipped his hands in his coat pocket and stealthily pulled out a clear flask. He uncapped the bottle drank heavily from it and returned it to its hiding place. He continued to trudge along in the desert.

Wesley couldn't decide what was worse, the overwhelming heat, the lightning bolts going off in his head or the men with metal boots kicking him in his sides. He ached all over. If they didn't reach the mountains soon, he thought, the mountains would just have to come to him. It was getting hard to breathe. Each breath came with an ache that settled deep in his lungs. He had to concentrate.

"Step left step right...breathe in breathe out..." A simple mantra he thought...

"...Mr. Crusher?" The Captain had been calling him. He'd walked right past him.

"Sir? I'm sorry sir."

"What does your reading say now?"

"Still the same, the frequency is stronger, whatever is over there is centered right near that mountain. It's a very strong energy field maybe even a life form."

"It could be a trap. You can't find any water with that thing?" Dirgo asked snatching the tricorder from Wesley.

"Not yet..." he said coolly snatching it back.

"Well we're almost there, we can't turn back now, we might as well keep moving." Picard announced as he continued moving forward. Wesley put the tricorder away and started walking and began his mantra again with Dirgo bringing up the rear.

After another thirty minutes of walking, the mountains were nearly in sight, Wesley began coughing. He struggled to place one foot in front of the other as he stumbled forward in the dense sand. He tried to draw in a deep breath but his throat was parched and dry; he'd stopped breathing through his nose hours ago. His cough nearly choked him as he fell to his knees unable to catch his breath. Captain Picard turned back and was beside him in an instant urging him to his feet as Dirgo stared. Wesley could not hear the words formed on his Captain's lips. Wes felt a sharp pain in his chest as he tried to cry out but only succeeding in a whimper. His eyelids became impossibly heavy as he heard the blood rushing from his head and his vision slowly went dark as he felt himself falling. Picard eased him to the desert floor and held his head.

The tricorder fell from Wesley's limp hands. The energy reading making it light up frenetically. He pushed a few buttons and switched it to scan Wesley's body from head to toe and read the read out.

He could barely see the light from the stone so he unzipped his tunic and saw it glow pink against fevered skin.

He sighed heavily. "You should have told me." he whispered.

"What's the matter with him? "

"We have to get him to shelter. His core temperature is very high, and he was injured much worse than he admitted in that explosion."

"I'll take the supplies" he said as he headed towards the mountains again.

"Merde." Picard shook his head staring at a retreating Dirgo. He tried to rouse Wesley but was unsuccessful. He carefully scooped up the lanky young man and threw him over his shoulder. He was much lighter than he thought he would be, as he continued towards the mountain.
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