A/N: There's only one more chapter after this! THANK YOU ALL so much for reading!!!
Chapter 11
"So, Counselor, this is now your third bridge shift aboard the Zukov. What do you think?" Captain Grenshaw fixed a very serious look at this young officer, but she could sense his humor behind the question.
"Well, sir. . .," she sensed he liked a good joke and was ready to alleviate the boredom of the journey, "permission to speak frankly?" When he nodded, she continued, "To be honest, sir, it has been quite uneventful and a tad boring." Deanna hoped she had read him correctly.
She smiled when he roared with laughter.
"Boring! Boring she calls bridge duty! By all that's holy!" Grenshaw liked this young woman and wished he could keep her aboard instead of passing her along to the Enterprise. He leaned closer to her and whispered, "Most of the time, it is boring, Counselor. But, every once in a while, something exciting happens, and it makes the boredom worthwhile." He would have continued in this vein a little longer, but the frantic movements at the science stations caught his eye. "What's happening, Mr. Teal?"
Teal looked up from his console and swallowed hard. "Ion storm, sir. Right in our path, and it will hit us in about. . .two minutes. Sorry, sir. It just appeared."
"No apologies necessary, Teal." Grenshaw raised his voice a bit, "All hands, this is the captain, we are about to be hit by an ion storm. Red alert and brace for impact in less than one minute."
The storm hit the ship and spun it like a toy. Lights flickered, then died. Vents ruptured, sending steam everywhere. The bridge officers struggled to stay at their posts, or at least in their seats, but one final shake of the ship sent everyone to the floor. The storm only lasted a minute, but the damage it had done would take hours to repair.
Deanna Troi picked herself up off the floor and looked around. The emergency lights had engaged, bathing the bridge in a strange yellow glow. She couldn't sense anyone in great distress, except the ensign at the con position. He was in pain. She went to him and assessed his injuries. "Just a broken arm, Ensign. Let me take you to Sickbay." For a brief moment, she couldn't believe she was voluntarily going to Sickbay, but she reminded herself that this was a different ship, and Rustim was safely below in the brig under guard.
Arriving in Sickbay, she found the doctor locked in a heated argument with two scientists. Knowing she could help them more than the poor ensign, she interrupted, "Excuse me, Doctor? I'm Lieutenant Commander Troi, and I've brought you a patient. Could we switch places?"
The doctor gave her a grateful look. He knew who and what she was, namely someone much more qualified to handle two irate scientists. Leading the ensign to a biobed, he heard Troi begin, "What seems to be the problem, gentlemen?"
Ten minutes later, the doctor came back over to Deanna, handing her a glass of water. "That was beautifully done! Thank you so much! Those two have been a pain ever since they beamed aboard. I hope they can salvage their experiment, if only so they will leave me alone! Now, I know that you came on an errand of mercy and I roped you into a different one, but could I beg you for one more? I have a pregnant Bajoran across the hall who came in for her regular checkup, and I'm afraid with all the other emergencies, I haven't had time to check on her. I'll be working on Ensign King over here if you need anything. She isn't due for another two months, but I just need to be sure she made it through the storm alright."
"Not a problem, doctor," Deanna smiled, "I'm happy to help." She crossed the hallway and into the room and felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise. Something was not right. She couldn't sense anything from the woman, and in the low light, she could see the woman's neck was at a strange angle. Cold sweat broke out over her brow and her stomach dropped in fear. Reaching out to touch the woman's shoulder, Deanna knew she was dead. But before Deanna could call for the doctor, she found herself flying backwards, Rustim grabbing for her throat.
She fought hard, but he was bigger, stronger. They rolled through the door, back into the empty hallway. Rustim got the upper hand and slammed her into the floor, half knocking the wind out of her. Deanna fought to regain control, but it was no use—he had his hands securely around her throat again.
"I should tie you up first." Rustim chanced a look around. "But there isn't time."
Deanna tried to scream, but she couldn't make a sound. She tried to send, to reach Selroi, but her vision was already fading and she couldn't concentrate. She heard Rustim's lunatic cackle and realized she was going to die. Again.
Then, suddenly, Rustim collapsed on top of her, moaning and clutching his head instead of her throat. She pushed him off and rolled away from him, coughing. Looking up she saw Commander Selroi and the doctor, who bent and jabbed a hypospray into Rustim's neck, rendering him unconscious.
Deanna scrambled to her feet to get farther away from her would-be killer. Selroi stepped over the prone Rustim. "Deanna, are you all right?"
"What in the devil was he doing in my Sickbay?" The doctor roared as he surveyed the unconscious man on the floor, Commander Selroi pale and shaken, and Counselor Troi equally pale and shaken with fingerprints clearly visible on her neck. He would have said more, but he had to lunge to catch Troi as she collapsed in a dead faint.