The away team ended up having eight personnel. In addition to myself, Captain Picard, Data, Yar, and La Forge, there were two security officers – a human named Cole and a green-skinned Orion named Rydia – as well as one of the ship's medical officers, a Vulcan named Sorrd.

We beamed down to the area where most of the tourists had gone missing. Our scanners had picked up a few anomalies in the area so we figured it would be a prime place to investigate, though with a due sense of caution.

The planet was just as lovely as the onboard library had described it. There were lush meadows and tall weeping willows and lovely ponds with water lilies blossoming on the still waters. The sky was a deep azure with luscious white clouds suspended there, while a gentle breeze wafted the scent of grass and earth. It was unlike anything I had ever seen.

"Be on your guard," ordered Captain Picard sternly. "The machinery of this planet is such that it can detect your thoughts and turn them into reality. Normally such illusions will not harm you, but the reports we've received would lead us to believe otherwise. So keep your thoughts focused and clear, avoid thinking of anything dangerous and report to me if you find anything strange."

Then the Captain proceeded to divide us into pairs. Geordi went with Tasha and the Orion was paired with Sorrd. Picard ordered Data to stay with him, while I was left with Cole. I was disappointed because I wanted an opportunity to ask Data what he had been so worked up about earlier, but perhaps that would have been an unnecessary distraction given we were all supposed to be on full alert.

So I held my tongue and smiled at the dashing young blonde-haired, blue-eyed officer who had been assigned to protect me. I knew little about Cole worth sharing. Rumours back at the Academy say he was a born fighter pilot, but had spent most of his missions training cadets, piloting cargo shuttles and engaging in more hand-to-hand combat than he cared for. Still, he was Starfleet material and I respected him for having an eye to seeing trouble before it happened.

We set out eastward, where there was a large forest complete with crimson-coloured leaves and towering redwood trees among the flora and fauna. This seemed like a logical place for tourists to get lost and disappear. Our pairs fanned out and were soon lost in the underbrush.

I had my scanner out to monitor for readings of any life forms or unusual activity. Cole kept his hand lightly on the handle of his phaser, but he was whistling softly to break the silence in the air.

"This all seems like a fairy tale," Cole said at last.

"How do you mean?" I asked, frowning as I strained over my scanner.

"I mean, all these colourful trees and strange plants," he explained. "It's like a page out of those ancient Earth tales about castles and enchanted forests and talking beasts."

"What an absurd idea," I muttered, half to myself.

"Sorry?"

"I said I can't detect anything unusual here," I covered, straightening up. "Let's try that clearing over there to see if I get any readings."

We strolled over to the clearing where the sunlight poked through the trees. I glanced at my scanner. Readings were normal, but I thought I saw a small blip in the radar towards the peripheral of my screen.

"My grandmother would love this place," Cole said, breaking my train of thought. "Feels like home. If we were back at the colony, she would sit us down outside her cottage and serve pies all day."

"What a strange thing to say," I murmured, shaking my scanner to see if it had glitched.

"Bryndis. do you think the Captain will give us shore leave if we figure out what's wrong down here?" he asked, plucking at the bark of a redwood tree.

"I don't know."

"I think it would be nice," he continued, clearly not seeing my frustration with the scanner. "I think we could use a break. We're not all androids like Data."

My head snapped up at the last word. Seeing he finally had my attention, he flashed a winning smile.

"Say," he said, drawing closer to me and resting his hand on my arm. "What do you say we take our next shore leave together, Bryndis? I bet we could have an awful lot of fun with our combined imaginations in a place like this."

I was speechless. Was Cole hitting on me? On an active mission?

"Of course, we need to find out what's going on here first," he said hurriedly, seeing my surprised look. "I'm just trying to keep myself motivated with happy thoughts, as the Captain ordered."

He hesitated, then added, "Thoughts about you do make me happy, Bryndis. I just want you to know that."

Then he broke away and started singing an old song. All I caught was something about a huntsman before I noticed a large blip materializing on my screen.

"This way," I waved to Cole and plunged back into the brush.