STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION
"Starship Mine"
"Captain's log, Stardate 46682.4. The Enterprise is docked at the Remmler Array, where it will undergo a routine procedure to eliminate accumulated baryon particles. In preparation for the sweep, we are evacuating the ship." Picard said.
Commotion of evacuation, N.D.s crisscrossing in the corridor. Picard, rounded the corner, a purposefulness in his stride. He soon encountered Deanna, PADD in hand, waiting to speak with him. They talked on the move.
"Captain... we're still behind schedule on decks seven and eight. Shall I tell Arkaria Base there'll be a delay?" Deanna asked.
"No. Open up the Transporters in Cargo Bay Two and divert everyone from deck seven there. That should get us back on track." Picard said.
"Right."
Picard nodded and moved on.
He passed Beverly, who fell into step with him.
"Captain... Arkaria Base does not have the medical storage units I requested. I have seven living tissue samples that won't survive the baryon sweep anymore than you or I would. I've tried to reason with them, but -" Beverly started.
"Have Mister LaForge transport a stasis unit from the astrophysics lab. You should be able to convert it to store tissue samples." Picard said.
"Thank you." she said then smiled, turned and headed back to Sickbay while Picard continued on.
The doors to the Turbolift entrance opened and Riker stepped off just in time to intercept the approaching Picard. Behind Riker, the Turbolift doors closed.
"Captain... I was just heading for deck seven. I've put the auto-shutdown sequence on hold until we get back on schedule." Riker said.
"I think we can resume the sequence. Counselor Troi is taking care of the situation on deck seven." Picard said.
"Aye, sir."
The two headed in opposite directions. The Turbolift doors again opened as Picard approached.
Data was inside a turbolift.
"Captain." Data said.
"Mister Data." Picard said. "Bridge." he said as he faced the front
The doors closed and the Turbolift's were in motion. A silent minute.
"It has been quite a day, has it not?" Data said.
Picard's one-tracked, no time for chit-chat but at the same time he was a bit surprised at Data's uncharacteristic approach.
"Yes it has."
"However, a change of routine is often invigorating and can be a welcome diversion after a long assignment."
"Exactly."
"I understand that Arkaria has some very interesting weather patterns."
Picard gave Data a look.
"Data, are you alright?" he asked.
"Yes, sir. I was attempting to fill a silent moment with non-relevant conversation."
Picard thought.
"Small talk?"
"Yes, sir. I have found that humans often make "small talk" during awkward moments. Therefore, I have written a new subroutine designed for that purpose. How did I do?"
"Perhaps it was a little too... non-relevant. However, if you're interested in small talk keep your eye on Commander Hutchinson during the reception this afternoon..." Picard said. "... he's a master." he said not looking forward to it.
The Turbolift stopped and they both left onto the Bridge.
"Thank you sir, I will."
Picard and Data entered the bridge to find the last leg of a frenetic race: Bridge regulars and a handful of N.D.s shutting down consoles. Picard was set upon simultaneously by Geordi and Worf. Wesley was looking after engineering for Geordi because his assistant is sick so he will be at engineering all day today. But liker he thought Wesley was fine with that.
"I just finished..." Geordi said.
"Request permission..." Worf said together.
"After you..." Geordi said to Worf.
"No sir. I believe you spoke first." Worf said to Geordi.
"We're running out of time, gentlemen. Mister Worf?" Picard said.
"The computer needs your authorization to disable command functions during the baryon sweep." Worf said.
"Are we ready, Mister La Forge?"
"Almost. I've requested some additional field diverters for the computer core and the Bridge and they haven't been installed yet." Geordi said.
"Additional units?" Picard said concerned.
"We've logged more warp hours in five years than most ships do in ten, so our baryon particle levels are pretty high. I'm a little worried that when the Remmler Array starts sweeping the ship it might have to use a stronger beam than normal to clear out all the radiation." Geordi said.
"And that might overload the field diverters protecting our key systems. How long until the new ones are in place?" Picard said understanding.
"I'd say another twenty minutes."
"Very well." Picard said. "Computer, disable all command functions in thirty minutes. Authorization: Picard gamma-six-zero-seven-three." he said to com.
"Authorization acknowledged." computer said.
Worf's console beeped.
"Incoming message, Captain. It's the station administrator, Mister Orton." he said off console.
"In my Ready Room." Picard said.
"Sir. Request permission to be excused from Commander Hutchinson's... reception."
"Permission granted. I only wish I could excuse myself as well."
"Captain, permission to -" Geordi started but was cut off.
"Sorry, Mister LaForge... I can't excuse the entire senior staff. Worf beat you to it."
Picard left to the Ready Room. Worf looked pleased and Geordi gave him a dirty look.
Picard entered the ready room, went behind his desk, and activated the terminal.
"Go ahead, Mister Orton." Picard said.
He got out his satchel and, under the following, loaded it with odds and ends.
"Captain, if you're on schedule, I'd like to confirm that we'll begin the baryon sweep at fifteen hundred hours - approximately one hour from now." Orton said on com.
"Confirmed."
"Commander Hutchinson also wanted me to make sure that you'll be able to attend his reception this afternoon."
Picard wasn't exactly thrilled about this particular event.
"Tell him... I'm looking forward to it."
"He'll be delighted to hear that. Arkaria Base out."
Picard closed his satchel.
A few minutes later Picard entered the bridge to find it empty. It took him a moment to adjust. He walked around, drinks in the solitude, savors it. Finally, he sat in his chair.
Suddenly, the fore and aft Turbolifts opened and six technicians entered the Bridge: Kelsey, Neil, Pomet and Devor and two aliens, Satler, and Kiros. They were all wearing plain-looking overalls and two of them were carrying field diverters
while the others carry Tricorders and other pieces of equipment.
As soon as the doors open, they fill the Bridge with noise and chatter, effectively destroying Picard's brief moment of solitude.
"Tell Arkaria base that we're almost finished here..." Kelsey said overlapping.
"We're going to need two more conduits..." Neil said overlapping.
"I need to run a diagnostic on the diverter..." Kiros said overlapping.
"Get the diverter aligned so that we can begin the isolation procedure." Devor said overlapping.
"Where's the ODN interface?" Neil asked overlapping.
Picard headed for the Turbolift over the above and the technicians took no notice of him.
He stopped and gave one last look around. So much for peace and quiet. And as he entered the Turbolift.
A lone outpost in the middle of nowhere a festive reception was underway. There was a control panel at one end, but the Multi- Purpose room otherwise had a party feel to it. There were tables of food. A waiter circulated with drinks. Orton was in the b.g. as Hutchinson worked the room. Data was quietly observing Hutchinson's technique and he unobtrusively followed the gregarious Commander about the room, watching and learning.
"Beverly!" Hutchinson said. "Lovely as ever... how do you manage it?" he said and gave her a kiss on the check.
"It's good to see you again." she said.
"It's been far too long - what is it, four years? Now I want to hear all about what happened after you left Starfleet Medical. And I have so much to tell you." he said. "Oh, that must be Commander Riker. Excuse me, won't you?" he said seeing someone else.
"Of course."
Beverly was quietly grateful that he had moved on and she took a drink off a tray in relief.
"You must be Wil Riker." Hutchinson said.
"I guess I must." Riker said.
"Calvin Hutchinson - call me Hutch. Calvin - awful name, I've never forgiven my parents. As soon as I saw you, I knew you had to be the Enterprise's first officer."
"Oh?"
"Of course. Your reputation precedes you - flashing blue eyes, square jaw... quite the ladies man I hear. Now don't be modest, Wil - may I call you Wil?"
"Uh, sure."
"I've also heard that you're a musician. I hope you'll play something for us. It's not often that I get a chance to entertain the command crew of the flagship... and speaking of command, hello Captain Picard."
Riker took this opportunity to slip quietly away and leave Picard. Picard's face had that frozen smile of forced cheerfulness on it as Hutchinson nattered on.
"Commander." Picard said.
"I was just telling your first officer what a real pleasure it is to have you all..." Hutchinson said.
As Riker moved over to stand with Beverly. He gave her a look and she smiled in commiseration.
Data approached the two of them. He tried to talk quickly and easily patterning his behavior after Hutchinson.
"It is very good to see you both again. May I call you Beverly? - Beverly, do you find the mean temperature here on Arkaria to be slightly above normal for human comfort levels?" Data said.
Riker and Beverly exchanged a look, they can't believe this.
"I have found that most humans prefer a temperature of twenty-one degrees C in order to operate most efficiently. However, there are some cultures which actually..." he said.
Hutchinson was going on as Picard looked for a way out.
"... I tell you, you've never seen anything like it. There were thousands of these creatures... the whole northern sky turned dark." Hutchinson said.
Picard suddenly saw a way out as Geordi and Deanna walked by.
"Geordi! Deanna! I don't believe you've met our host." Picard said. "Allow me to introduce Commander Geordi La Forge, Counselor Deanna Troi. This is Commander Hutchinson."
"Hutch." Hutchinson said.
"Hello." Geordi said.
"Hello." Deanna said.
"I was just telling your captain about some of the fascinating sights here on Arkaria. Is either of you interested in ornithology?" Hutchinson said.
"Uh... well..." Deanna started.
Picard was starting to make his getaway.
"The mating habits of the Arkarian horn fowl are quite interesting. If the weather were better, we could take horses to the southern promontory and visit the nesting grounds."
Picard stopped, turned.
"Horses?" he said.
"Yes... there's a network of trails through the plains. Unfortunately, they aren't very pleasant right now... muddy, cold. Not a soul for kilometers."
"That sounds... perfect." Picard said. "How long until the baryon sweep begins on the Enterprise?" he asked Geordi.
"At least twenty-five minutes." Geordi said.
"Then I'll have time to get my saddle."
This was met with blank stares from the other three.
"Your... saddle?" Deanna said.
"Yes." he said then noticed their looks. "A saddle is a very personal thing. It has to be broken in... worn... cared for..."
"You keep a saddle on the Enterprise?" Geordi said.
"Yes." Picard said. "I've had it since the Academy." he said. "I never know when I'll have the opportunity to ride."
"I see." Deanna said.
"It's perfectly normal. Most serious riders have their own saddles.
"Of course."
"Yes, sir." Geordi said.
"Absolutely."
"If you'll excuse me." Picard said.
They smiled as Picard left. But the mirth on Deanna and Geordi's faces vanished as they soon realized that they still have Hutchinson to deal with and that they have no smooth way out.
"An amazing man. He reminds me of another officer I knew many years ago... a Captain Edwell. Now he was fascinating... born on Gaspra Seven but you wouldn't know it from the way he looked..." Hutchinson said meaning Picard.
The door to Picard's quarters opened and Picard entered the corridor, his saddle slung over his shoulder. He had now changed into civilian clothes.
"Auto-shutdown sequence in progress. Defensive systems off-line. Baryon sweep begins in eight minutes." computer said.
Picard walked just a little faster. Then he rounded a bend and saw something. He slowed down, looking concerned.
A wall panel just above floor level had been removed, some fiber-optic cables yanked out. Picard approached, set his saddle down and knelt to inspect the open panel.
"What are you doing?" someone asked.
Picard looked up to see Devor, one of the technical crew, standing over him, a pistol-size laser-welder in his hand. Picard rose, wary.
"Someone left this ODN junction box open." Picard said. "I thought your crew was supposed to leave the ship once the field diverters were in place."
"The diverters have to be synchronized." Devor said. "I was laser-bonding a backup link."
Picard regarded him evenly.
"I see. Well, I suppose I'd better let you finish up so you can get off the ship." he said.
Picard scooped up his saddle, moved off, his back to Devor. The alien realized Picard suspected something.
"Wait a minute -" Devor said.
As Picard turned, Devor raised the laser-welder, but Picard had anticipated him. He slammed Devor with the saddle, sending him back hard into the wall. The welder discharged into the air.
Devor sprung back into a combat stance but Picard was ready for him. He dodged, yanked him around in a hammer lock and wedged the side of his hand into Devor's carotid. Devor struggled for a second, then slumps.
"Auto shut-down sequence in progress. Inertial dampers off-line. Baryon sweep begins in six minutes." computer said.
Then the lights went out. Backup lighting kicked in slightly dimmer than what usual.
Picard took off fast, without his saddle and headed for Transporter Room One.
Picard was moving fast when he heard voices ahead. He slowed and squeezed back against the side wall.
"Auto shut-down sequence in progress. Life support off-line. Baryon sweep begins in three minutes." computer said.
Kelsey and Neil round the bend headed in the same direction Picard was going. They didn't see Picard, but they unwittingly cut him off.
"We still have to by-pass the magnetic containment conduit." Kelsey said to Neil.
"That should be down on deck thirty." Neil said.
"Get Pomet started on it right away."
"Auto shut-down sequence in progress. Primary power off-line in one minute." computer said.
Frustration showed on his face. He waited a minute, then turned and headed back the way he came.
Picard came around a corner fast.
"Primary power off-line in thirty seconds." computer said.
Picard ran into a Transporter room.
Working feverishly at the transporter room, he set the controls.
"Final warning. Primary power off-line in ten seconds..." computer said.
As he leaped up onto the stage the Transporter began to power up.
Suddenly, the stage went dark and the Transporter shut down. The ship seemed to slump into dormancy. The Enterprise was completely silent.
The reception continued. Data was chatting up a non-appreciative Orton. Orton was a native Arkarian and was the Chief Administrator for the base. He carried himself like an upper-class butler in the face of Data's stream of small talk.
"I find it fascinating that your family chose to drop the prefix
"Pel" from your surname. It was my understanding that "Pel Orton" would be considered a more noble appellation on Arkaria than simply Orton." Data said.
"Yes." Orton said.
Data was undeterred by this less than encouraging response.
"Perhaps the recent Arkarian trend toward a more egalitarian society is partly responsible." he said.
"Perhaps."
Riker had been waylaid by Hutchinson.
"The crew of the Magellan actually put on a talent show here. Captain Conklin did a poetry reading, if you can imagine that." Hutchinson said.
"I'm trying to." Riker said.
"Did I ever tell you how I came to be stationed here? It's a fascinating story."
Riker desperately wanted a way out of here and suddenly he thought of one.
"You see, I was serving on Admiral Mitchell's staff on Starbase ninety-seven - awful place, by the way -"
"Hutch. Have you met our Commander Data?"
"Why no, I don't think so."
Riker took him by the arm and steered him toward Data and Orton. By the look on Orton's face, even his stiff upper lip was beginning to crack under Data's onslaught.
"... there are several cultures in this sector with remarkably similar etymological histories -" Data said to Orton.
"Data, allow me to introduce our host. This is Commander Hutchinson - call him Hutch." Riker said. "This is our second officer, Commander Data." he said to Hutchison.
"A pleasure."
"The pleasure is mine. I have been meaning to compliment you on your choice of colors here." Data said to Hutchinson.
"You really think so? It wasn't easy to make the final decision, let me tell you."
"I am sure of that. The light in this room makes color selection exceptionally problematic."
"Precisely."
Riker and Orton made a quiet getaway.
"Thank you." Orton said to Riker.
"You're welcome." Riker said then glanced back. "I'm not sure which one to feel sorry for." he said.
An Arkarian Waiter caught Orton's attention.
"Mister Orton?" Waiter said.
"If you'll excuse me, Commander." Orton said.
Orton went to talk with the Waiter. Riker moved to Geordi.
"Geordi... what happened to the Captain?" Riker asked.
"He went back to the ship to get his saddle." Geordi said.
"His saddle?"
"Any serious rider would have his own saddle." Geordi said like it was obvious.
"Oh."
"He probably went right to the stables. I bet he's ten kilometers from here already."
Riker glanced at Hutchinson and Data.
"Lucky him."
Picard pulled Devor toward Sickbay.
The laser torch was now stuck in Picard's pants. Picard set Devor down, and took out a small suction device from a pocket, an emergency manual door-opener. He used it to open the Sickbay door.
Picard dragged Devor inside sickbay and set him down. He went to a supply cabinet and got out a hypospray and a phaser, suddenly he heard static.
The communicator strapped to Devor upper arm crackled to life.
"Kelsey to Devor." she said on com. "Devor, this is Kelsey. Reply."
Picard moved close to Devor and removed his communicator.
"Devor, do you read me?" Kelsey asked on com. "Kelsey to Kiros."
"This is Kiros." Kiros said on com.
"Devor isn't responding. There must be too much interference from the baryon sweep. Go find him and see if he finished by-passing the regulator on deck seven, then meet us in Main Engineering."
"Understood."
Picard was taking this all in. Devor groaned. Picard went over to Devor, knelt next to him, and pointed the phaser at him.
"Who are you? What are you doing on my ship." Picard said.
Devor looked at the phaser and sneered.
"The baryon sweep uses a high-frequency plasma field. That phaser won't work." he said.
"You're probably right." Picard said unfazed then calmly pulled the laser-torch and pointed it to Devor's head.
"But I'm willing to bet that this will."
Devor swallowed hard, but stiffened his resolve.
"What's going on in Main Engineering?" Picard asked continuing.
Devor said nothing and Picard pressed the laser-torch harder against his head.
"I suggest you cooperate." Picard said.
Devor thought for a moment, then his eyes narrowed.
"You're Starfleet, you won't kill me." Devor said.
"Are you sure?"
They looked at each other for a moment, then Picard tightened his grip on the torch, suddenly Devor's eyes were wide and then he slumped back unconscious.
Picard has just hypo sprayed Devor.
"I guess you're right." he said to Devor.
He put Devor's communicator and laser-torch in his pockets and then left.
Picard was now cautiously moving through the Corridor, trying to be quiet and avoid running into anyone.
Picard moved into an alcove where there was a Turbolift entrance. He looked around and then pulled out his door-opening device. He opened the door to the Turbolift, then put the device back in his pocket.
He reached up to the ceiling and started to open the hatch, suddenly a weapon was put to the back of his head.
Kiros was standing in the Corridor holding the weapon to Picard's head.
The ongoing reception at Arkaria base. Hutchinson and Data were still at it, they fed off each other, and the feeling here was almost that of one-upsmanship.
"... yes, but Tyrellian laser-art is very similar in form and composition." Data said.
"Oh, of course. Funny you should mention that. I used to be stationed on Tyrellia." Hutchinson said.
"Really? There are five Tyrellians currently serving aboard the Enterprise."
"Fascinating. Not many people know this, but Tyrellia is one of only three known inhabited worlds without a magnetic pole."
"I was aware of that. Are you aware that Tyrellia is also one of seven known planets..."
Riker was watching Data and Hutchinson from across the room. Deanna moved to him and followed his gaze.
"Are they still at it?" Deanna asked.
"Non-stop. I have to admit it has a sort of strange fascination... I mean, how long can two people talk about... nothing?" Riker asked.
They continued to watch.
Geordi was piling some food onto a plate from one of the tables. And Wesley was sitting next to him now on lunch break. The Waiter was standing nearby. Geordi suddenly frowned and looked down at the table in puzzlement. He put his hand on the table, feeling it for heat. The Waiter immediately moved next to him while Wesley looked at him confused.
"Is something wrong?" waiter asked.
"Uh... I don't know. I'm getting a weird energy reading from your table." Geordi said.
"I'm sure it's nothing serious. Perhaps the heating element under the tray is malfunctioning."
"Maybe I should take a look at it."
As Geordi started to bend down, Orton was suddenly there and tried to get him away.
Orton smiled.
"I'm sure we can handle this, whatever it is, Commander. There's no need to concern yourself."
"I really think we, me and Geordi, should look at that heating element. If it overloads under -" Wesley started.
Orton took Geordi by the arm, a gentle but firm gesture.
"It's all right." he said firmer.
The conversation between Geordi, Wesley and Orton had gotten Riker's attention. He frowned.
"What's that all about?" Riker asked.
He started moving toward Geordi and Wesley.
"We'll look into it. You don't have to concern yourself."
Over the above dialog, the Waiter suddenly saw Riker walking towards them with a concerned look on his face. He looked from Riker to Orton for a moment, then made a snap decision.
"Orton, now!" the waiter said.
The following happens very quickly:
The waiter reached under the food cart and yanked out an alien phaser from the hidden compartment. He fired at Riker, narrowly missing him. Riker dove for cover.
Orton shoved Geordi out of the way and grabbed his own weapon.
Hutchinson, Wesley and Data reacted to the attack.
Geordi recovered and went for Orton, but the Waiter fired a burst into his chest, knocking him unconscious.
Hutchinson went for the Waiter, but now Orton had his phaser out and he fired at Hutchinson.
He took the blast full in the chest and went down.
Orton and the Waiter now had the entire room under their weapons.
Stay right where you are." Orton said.
Everyone froze. Riker and Data exchanged looks. They didn't see a way out.
The main engineering room been taken over by the terrorists. A field diverter was sitting between the engine core and the pool table and there were many pieces of odd equipment lying about. The entire engine core was off. Pomet and Satler were working on open Mees panels located on the upper level of Engineering.
Satler was checking something on a PADD as Pomet made adjustments in the panel.
"Reduce the plasma pressure to zero point six percent nominal." Satler said.
"Zero point six." Poet said while he worked.
"How does the conduit look?"
"It's clear." Pomet said and checked.
Satler turned and called down to Neil.
"All right. The main plasma flow is shunted to the aft conduit. We're ready up here." Satler said to Neil.
Kelsey was standing beside Neil, who was working on an open Mees panel on the bulkhead near the pool table. Kelsey was a tall, striking woman with an almost feline grace and power. She was observing Neil as he made some adjustments to the circuitry with a device. Neil was slightly built and has a nervous demeanor.
"Okay." Neil said to Satler. "That should do it. I think." he said while he worked.
"Be sure, Neil." Kelsey said calm.
"Uh... yes... yes, that does it." Neil said checking something. "All right... transfer five hundred milligrams from the reserve system to the engine core." he said calling over his shoulder.
Pomet and Satler worked for a moment and then the center of the core and the side tubes came to life with a low hum.
Back with Kelsey and Neil,
Neil was pleased.
"Perfect." he said with a big smile.
"Adequate. Disable the containment overrides and get the interlocks off the magnetic seal." Kelsey said.
Neil chastened.
"Right." he said.
Kelsey moved to the engine core.
"Pomet, prepare the transport assembly." she said. "Keep watching the power flow, it might..." she said to Satler.
She trailed off as Picard and Kiros entered. Kiros still had his weapon pointed at Picard's back. Everyone in the room stared for a moment.
"Keep working." she said to the others.
They got back to work as Kelsey moved to Picard and Kiros.
"Where did he come from?" she asked Kiros.
"I found him on deck seven." he said.
"Who are you?" she asked Picard.
Picard thought for a moment, decided there was an advantage to be gained here. He looked at her blankly for a minute and acted befuddled and harmless.
"My name is Mott. I'm... the barber." he said.
"The barber? What the hell are you doing here? Everyone was supposed to be evacuated to the surface." Kelsey said.
"I... I know. But, I wanted to go riding and I didn't have my saddle, so I came back -"
"Your saddle?"
"That's right. I left it in the corridor on deck seven. When the power went off, I got lost and didn't know where to go so -
"All right, shut up." she said. "Any sign of Devor?" she asked Kiros.
"No." he said.
Kelsey flushed with anger.
"If he's off looting at a time like this..." she said. "All right, go find him and make sure nothing's wrong." she said then turned. "Salter. Get over here and keep an eye on our... barber."
Kiros left as Satler came over and moved Picard to one side of the room while holding a weapon.
"Sit down." Satler told Picard.
"Sure, okay. You don't need to point that at me." Picard said meekly.
"Just do what I tell you, and you won't have to worry."
Picard sat down meekly and Satler stood near him with his weapon ready. He took this opportunity to watch the terrorists in action and try to figure out what they were doing.
He watched as Kelsey moved toward Pomet, who had come down from the upper level of Engineering and was working on a thermos-sized trilithium resin containment unit.
"How long until you're ready?" Kelsey asked Pomet.
"Forty, maybe fifty minutes." he said considering.
"The baryon sweep hits this compartment in thirty minutes."
"The field diverter will protect us."
"It's not us I'm worried about, it's that storage unit. I want the trilithium resin..."
When Kelsey said the word "trilithium" Picard reacted with dismay.
"... in there and secured before the sweep gets here. I don't want to take any chances." she continued.
"Understood." Pomet said then went to work.
The hostages at Arkaria base were standing in different parts of the room. Orton was maintaining his cool composure, watching the hostages with a calm expression while the Waiter patrolled the room occasionally.
On one side and away from the other hostages, Beverly was kneeling on the floor next to an unconscious Geordi, applying some lo-tech first aid. Hutchinson's body lied near Geordi, but he wasn't moving.
Riker was near Deanna and Wesley. They conversed sotto voice.
"They haven't tried to communicate with the outside." Deanna said.
"No demands, no political statements, no theft... they must want something." Riker said.
Data moved to join them.
"Orton is not as calm as he looks. He's very agitated and nervous... as if something's gone wrong." Deanna said.
Deanna now casually moved away.
"It is possible that Geordi upset their timetable when he saw the hidden weapons." Data said.
"Orton could be improvising... maybe he didn't plan to take us hostage this early... so now he doesn't know what to do..." Riker started.
"If they don't have a plan for this contingency, we might have the initiative." Wesley said.
Riker nodded.
"Maybe, but we have to think of a way to use it..."
Beverly moved over to them Orton watched her carefully the whole way.
"How's Geordi?" Riker asked.
"There's no permanent damage. I've adjusted the optical transducer in his VISOR to block some of the pain receptors in his brain, but it's only partially effective." Beverly said.
"What about Hutchinson?" Wesley asked.
"There was nothing I could do for him. she said grim. "I still need to get Geordi to a medical facility."
"I doubt he'll agree to that." Riker said and glanced at Orton. "If we told him Geordi was dying he might give us access to a medical kit... maybe we could make a weapon from some of the tools..."
Data suddenly had an idea.
"Perhaps we can use the VISOR as a weapon. If the optical transducer were modified, it may be possible to generate a hypersonic pulse." he said.
"A hypersonic pulse would overload the audio receptors of everyone in the room. It would cause immediate unconsciousness." Beverly said understanding.
Riker glanced at Orton.
"Can you make the adjustments to the VISOR by yourself? It's going to look suspicious if both of you go over there." he said to Beverly.
Beverly thought for a moment.
"I'll try... Geordi may have to help me through some of it." she said.
"I can try and help to." Wesley said.
"All right... try to keep it casual. Let us know when you're ready."
Beverly nodded and then moved back to Geordi. Orton watched her, but did nothing.
Picard was still at main engineering sitting against a bulkhead. Satler was standing guard over him, but he wasn't paying strict attention to this mild-mannered "barber".
Kelsey was watching Pomet attach the thermos-storage unit to an interface inside the box on the side of the large vertical cylinder which was right behind the engine core. Pomet made a few adjustments, then a light came on the thermos.
"Ready." Pomet said to Kelsey
Kelsey turned to Neil, who had opened the large panel near the engine core.
"Begin draining the trilithium at one hundred milligrams per minute." she said.
Neil nodded and worked in the panel. Kelsey and Pomet kept a close watch on the thermos.
Picard was watching Satler carefully. Satler's attention was on the operation near the core.
He carefully took the laser-torch out from where he had concealed it in the back of his shirt.
Satler was still unaware of what Picard was doing. Picard glanced down to his left.
He placed the tip of the laser-torch directly next to a small sensor that was set into the bulkhead.
He glanced at Satler then glanced at the ceiling.
Picard activated the torch and it disharged against the sensor.
There was a pause, then suddenly vast quantities of gas began to flood the compartment, alarm sound, and the isolation door began closing.
Picard took advantage of the confusion to knock Satler to his knees and then grabbed the laser torch and moved quickly to the field diverter.
Kelsey was trying to get control of the situation. She yelled over the sound of the alarms and tried to see through the clouds of gas.
"Neil, what's going on!?" she asked.
Picard pressed the laser torch against the side of the diverter and activated it. The diverter went dead. Picard ducked under the Isolation door and headed for the Jefferies Tube.
Satler recovered and went after Picard, barely making it under the door before it closes completely.
Picard was now in the Jefferson Tube in a horizontal section, scrambling through for all he was worth.
Satler was scrambling after Picard, with his weapon in hand.
Picard was moving quickly around a corner. He came to a hatch, opened the Baryon sweep, a transparent sheet of green was flickering on and off directly ahead of Picard.
He was trapped, the field was ahead of him and Satler was behind him.
Satler came around the corner and saw the now closed hatch where Picard was. Directly in front of the hatch, Picard's jacket was lying on the floor of the tube. Satler moved to the jacket and picks it up.
The jacket was hiding a manhole-sized hole cut into the floor of the tube.
She was looking down the hole. A sudden o.c. hum made her look up just in time to see the green Baryon sweep come through the closed hatch directly toward her. There was no time to escape.
Picard, now without his jacket, ran down the corridor, Satler's brief, painful scream in the b.g..
The Isolation door of the main engineering had been reopened, the gas was gone and the alarms had been turned off. Kelsey was standing over Neil, who was examining the deactivated field diverter. After a minute, Neil shook his head and let out a long breath in resignation.
"The primary inducer is completely fused. There's no way to fix it." Neil said. "Without the diverter, we don't have any protection from the baryon sweep."
"I know that. How long until the baryon sweep hits this section?" she asked irritated.
"About twelve minutes. We should go to Ten Forward, it's the last place on the ship that'll be swept by the baryon field."
Kelsey thought for a moment, looked at the engine core for a minute then made the decision.
"All right, we're leaving. But we're taking the trilithium with us." she said.
"What? The storage unit wasn't designed to be portable. We can't just start hauling it through the ship -" Neil said shocked.
She silenced him with a look.
"I'll... I'll try to make some modifications." he said fearful.
Then he hurried toward the engine core.
As Pomet came out of the Jefferies Tube.
"Satler's dead... he ran into the baryon sweep." he said to Kelsey.
"And what about Mott?"
"I don't know. But I don't think he's a barber. I found this in the Jefferies Tube."
Pomet handed her something.
Pomet had handed her a Starfleet combadge.
Kelsey's face darkened with the realization that they're facing a formidable opponent.
Picard rounded the corner and stopped at a particular room. He used his door-opener to get in.
Picard entered Worf's quarters and was at Worf's room, replete with Klingon weapons on the wall. He began to examine the weapons, trying to decide which ones will be the most useful. The alien communicator squawked in his pocket and he took it out to listen.
"Kelsey to Kiros." Kelsey said on com.
"This is Kiros." Kiros said on com.
Kelsey was at the engineering on the communicator. Neil and Pomet were working with the thermos and the open panel behind the engine core.
"We have a problem. There's a Starfleet officer still aboard. He killed Satler and he may have killed Devor." she said in her communicator. "He also destroyed the diverter in Engineering so we have to leave here before the baryon sweep enters this section."
"What about the trilithium resin?" Kiros' asked on com.
"We're taking it with us to Ten Forward." she said into communicator.
Picard had just taken the crossbow off the wall when he heard this. He reacted with shock and picked up the communicator.
"There should be enough time before -" she continued.
"Kelsey. Don't be a fool. You know better than to try moving that resin." Picard said firm into communicator.
In Engineering, Kelsey reacted for a moment then her eyes narrowed and she adjusted to the new situation.
"Mister Mott... or should I call you Lieutenant... Lieutenant Commander perhaps?" Kelsey asked.
"You may call me whatever you wish, but moving trilithium resin requires very specific equipment. You can't simply improvise something." Picard said.
Kelsey got Pomet's attention and waved him over.
"I wouldn't need to improvise if you hadn't damaged our field diverter." she said.
As Picard answered her, Kelsey mouthed the words "Find him" to Pomet, who then nodded and left.
"But if you're so concerned about the trilithium, I suggest you stop interfering with us - before you set off an explosion that would destroy the Enterprise... and you." she continued.
"I would rather destroy this ship than allow that material to fall into the hands of terrorists."
"What makes you think I'm a terrorist?"
"Trilithium resin is a highly toxic waste material produced by our engines. There's no possible use for it except as a weapon."
"You might be right, Mister Mott. But we've been planning this for a long time, and I doubt that you'll really be able to stop us... or even slow us down."
Then she shut off the communicator.
At Worf's quarters Picard put the communicator back in his pocket and slung the crossbow over his shoulder and grabbed some arrowed before leaving.
At the bridge Kelsey moved to where Neil was working on the thermos, which was still attached to the open panel behind the core. A few blinks on the side of the thermos were winking on and off, indicating that it was active. Neil worked for a moment with a device then seemed satisfied.
"That's it... three hundred milligrams of trilithium." Neil said then picked up a pin.
"I'm using a dynamic stabilizer to act as a control rod..." he said meaning th pin.
He carefully inserted it into the thermos, there was an audible click and a green lights came on the thermos.
"There. That should keep the resin stable enough for transport." he said.
There was a minute, and then Kelsey reached out and removed the thermos from the panel. Neil winced slightly at the casual way Kelsey handled the unit.
"Don't look so tense, Neil. If something goes wrong, you won't have time to worry about it." she said then smiled at him and Neil managed a wan smile in return. "Let's go."
Then they left.
Picard was at sickbay dipping an arrow tip into a vial of colored liquid. He then loaded the arrow into the crossbow.
and Neil were climbing up a vertical section of Jefferson tube. Kelsey was in the lead, with Neil behind her. The thermos was strapped onto Neil's back.
"How much further?" Neil asked.
"Three more decks... then we take corridor fifteen-B all the way to Ten Forward." Kelsey said then suddenly stopped short.
"What's wrong?"
"We have to find another way up."
All the ladder rungs above Kelsey were gone. She looked at the remains of one of the rungs.
The two stubs jutting out from the wall of the Jefferies Tube were burnt and melted, as if cut with a torch.
Her face darkened.
Picard was now in sickbay carefully pouring a small amount of white powder from a container into a petri dish. The communicator in his pocket suddenly crackles to life.
"That wasn't very clever, Mister Mott." Kelsey said on com.
Kelsey and Neil came down off the ladder and then moved through a section of horizontal tube. Kelsey was talking into her communicator.
"If you knew where we were, you should've attacked us. Now we'll just take another route... one you might not be able to predict." she continued.
As they talked, Picard poured some black powder into another petri dish and then picked up a long wand.
"There are only so many ways to Ten Forward... and Ten Forward is the only logical place to go if you want to stay ahead of the Baryon sweep." Picard said to com.
Picard took the wand and touched it to the white powder, then removed it and placed it in the black powder. As soon as he touched the black powder, there was a small explosion and puff of smoke.
"That sweep is just as big a threat to you as it is to us. In fact, if I were you, Mister Mott, I'd be trying to find a way off this ship." Kelsey said over above action.
Picard was satisfied with the results of his experiment. He put lids on the tops of the containers and put them in a pocket.
"I plan on leaving the same way you do... on your ship." Picard said to com.
"What ship?"
"Come on, Kelsey. If you've been planning this for so long, you must have a way to get off the Enterprise and leave this system. I think there's a ship coming for you. And I plan to be on it."
"It's a small ship, Mott... I don't think there's going to be room for both of us."
"I'm sorry to hear that... I'll send your regrets." Picard said then slung the crossbow over his shoulder and left.
At Arkaria base Riker was casually watching Beverly and Geordi from across the room. Beverly was kneeling next to Geordi, working on his visor. After a minute, she put the visor down, said something quietly to Geordi and then moved to rejoin the others.
"How is he, Doctor?" Riker asked in a normal voice.
"He's in a lot of pain, but he should be fine. He needs some water." Beverly said.
Then she moved to get some water from a table. Deanna was standing next to the table. Beverly talked quickly and quietly to her as she poured some water into a glass. Neither woman looked at the other as Beverly got out her information.
"We're almost ready. But when we set the VISOR to emit the hypersonic pulse, there'll be a short burst of light. We need a distraction." Beverly said Sotto quickly and returned to Geordi and Deanna casually sat down.
Riker moved said then within earshot.
"They need a distraction." Deanna said.
"How long?" Riker asked.
"A few seconds."
Riker thought for a moment.
"I think I can keep Orton busy for a few seconds." he said.
"I don't think Orton's in a talking mood, Wil."
"You just have to know how to talk to him."
Then he looked at Beverly. She made a final adjustment to the visor, glanced at him, looked away and then carefully nodded her head.
Then he got up and moved toward Orton who watched him carefully.
"Orton, I think we should discuss this situation." Riker said.
"There's nothing to discuss. Sit down." Orton said.
"I think there's a lot to discuss. Can't we be reasonable here?"
"I'm not interested in hearing your hostage negotiation tactics, Commander."
"It won't hurt you to listen, will it?"
Orton sighed, willing to give this a shot if it will shut him up.
"All right." he said bored.
"Thank you. Now the first thing I think we should discuss is this..."
Without the slightest warning, Riker threw a powerful right cross that catches Orton unaware and sent him sprawling. Riker threw a plate of food at the Waiter, but he quickly moved in with a well-placed kick that knocked Riker back.
Beverly adjusted the visor. A brief rainbow burst of light came out and then disappeared.
Riker picked up off the floor by the Waiter who held him.
"Well, Commander... Here's my response." Orton said.
Orton slammed a fist into Riker's gut.
Pomet was walking carefully through the corridor looking for Picard with his weapon in hand. He approached an intersection... began to turn the corner, then stopped as he heard something behind him. He didn't turn right away... took a another couple of steps forward, as if he didn't hear anything... then suddenly whirled around.
Pomet looked down the empty corridor. There was no one there.
He was annoyed thought heard something, he began to turn around and as he does we rack focus to see Picard, several feet down the corridor. He had already got the crossbow aimed.
Picard fired the crossbow.
Pomet was hit in the leg with the arrow. He yelled out in pain, but it wasn't a mortal wound and he whipped up his weapon to fire back at Picard. But suddenly he paused, dizzy... couldn't see straight and collapsed to the ground.
Picard ran to Pomet. He checked the man's pulse alive and then moved to remove the weapon from Pomet's reflexive grip. But before he could, there was another weapon prodding the back of his head.
"Put your weapon down... slowly." Kiros said.
Picard was standing with his hands on his head, facing away from Kiros, who never took his eyes off him as he activated his communicator.
"Kelsey, this is Kiros. I'm on deck ten. I have Mott." Kiros said to com.
Kelsey and Neil were at Jefferies tube climbing up another tube.
"Is he alive?" Kelsey asked.
"Yes." Kiros said.
"Good. Meet us at intersection forty-one."
"Understood."
Kiros pointed down the corridor with his weapon.
"Move." he said.
They began to head down the corridor.
The door to the Jefferies Tube opened and Kelsey crawled out into the corridor. Neil followed her, breathing heavily.
"Give me the trilithium." Kelsey said.
Neil took off the thermos and bent over, catching his breath.
"How... how much farther do we have to go?" he said panting.
"Not far." she said. "With all the modifications you made to this unit, will we have any trouble removing the trilithium?" she asked then looked at the thermos.
"No... you just remove the control rod and then drain the unit... there shouldn't be any problem."
"That's all I wanted to know."
She pulled out her weapon and pointed it at Neil's chest.
Picard and Kiros came about the corner just as Kelsey shut the door to the Jefferies Tube. The thermos was on the deck, Neil was nowhere to be seen. Kelsey turned as they approached.
"Well... not as clever as you thought. Where's Pomet?" she said to Picard.
"He shot him with some kind of arrow." Kiros said.
"He's not dead." Picard said.
"Well, he will be soon. The baryon sweep's nearly here and we don't have time to go back for him." Kelsey said.
"What about Neil?" Kiros asked.
"The sweep got him. Let's go." she said. "And you can lead, Mister Mott. That way if we come to any more of your little surprises, you'll be sure to let us know." she said to Picard.
Kelsey picked up the thermos as Kiros prodded Picard down the corridor.
Riker was sitting at one of the tables, his face was slightly bloodied and bruised. Deanna dabbed a cloth to one of the cuts.
"I thought you were going to talk with him." Deanna said.
"I did. He just didn't like what I had to say." Riker said.
Suddenly, a light on the computer panel began flashing and beeping. Orton moved to the panel and began working it. The Waiter kept a close eye on everyone. Data moved to Riker.
"That was a perimeter warning from the Remmler Array. A small ship is approaching." Data said. "I believe Mister Orton has just dropped the defense shields." he said watching Orton.
"This has to be what they've been waiting for."
Riker looked at Beverly. She made a couple of adjustments to the visor and then nodded.
"Data, you're going to be the only one unaffected by the hypersonic burst. As soon as everyone's unconscious, you've got to get to the computer panel and stop that ship somehow." Riker said.
"I will try, sir." Data said.
Riker took a deep breath then nodded to Beverly.
Beverly activated the visor.
A very low hum could be heard, Orton looked up in curiosity then suddenly he put his hands to his head in confusion... and sunk to the floor, unconscious. Everyone followed suit, leaving only Data awake. He moved quickly to the computer panel.
Picard, Kiros and Kelsey moved along at a clip. Picard was trying to figure things out but also trying to keep his captors off-center, look for an opening.
"Kelsey - perhaps we can work out a deal." Picard said.
"You're the only one who needs a deal, Mott." Kelsey said.
"My name's not Mott. It's Jean-Luc Picard."
Kelsey reacted.
"Captain Picard... this is all beginning to make sense..." she said.
"Leave the trilithium here and take me with you. You can use me as a hostage instead of threatening -"
"I'm not a terrorist Captain, and I don't have a political agenda..." she said. "But I know some people who do have agendas... and who are very interested in this little container."
"Profit. This is all about profit."
"I prefer to think of it as commerce."
They had reached the doors to Ten Forward.
"Open the door." she said to Picard.
Picard used his suction device and opened the door.
"Now go through... slowly." she said.
They entered Ten Forward single file: Picard, Kiros, then Kelsey. Kiros's weapon was steady on Picard's back and Kelsey was looking around for a possible trap.
Picard stepped squarely into a strip of white powder on the ground... then carefully side-steps a strip of black powder was just ahead of it.
Kiros follow Picard warily.
Kiros stepped first onto the white, then directly onto the black powder with the same foot. As soon as his foot touched the second strip of powder, the chemicals reacted and there was an explosion.
As the explosion blew Kiros against the wall, knocking her out. Picard took advantage of the explosion and whirled around, he lunged at Kelsey and knocked her to the ground. She lost her grip on the thermos.
The thermos pounced across the floor.
Picard moved for Kiros's weapon, which was on the floor, but Kelsey recovered quickly and she caught him with a well-placed kick. Suddenly a noise made both of them stopped for a moment and turned toward the back wall.
As the Baryon sweep suddenly came through the wall.
Kelsey and Picard reacted to the sight. Then Kelsey swung at Picard and they began to fight across the room toward the windows only a few feet ahead of the Baryon sweep.
Kelsey knocked Picard back, went for the thermos on the floor, but then Picard lunged at her, knocking them both to the ground there was a brief struggle for the thermos as they rolled around on the ground, finally Kelsey knocked him away and picked up her weapon. Picard froze as Kelsey took the thermos.
Kelsey's communicator began to beep and flash.
Then she touched her communicator.
"I guess, I'll be the one to send your regrets."
Before Picard could make another move, Kelsey and the thermos dematerialized.
Picard looked around trying to think of some way out. But there was nowhere for him to go. He climbed up on a window support, giving him a few extra seconds, but the sweep was getting every closer. He adjusted the communicator for a moment.
"Arkaria base, this is Captain Picard. Deactivate the baryon sweep." Picard said to com. "This is Captain Picard on the Enterprise. Deactivate the baryon sweep immediately." he said urgent.
He pressed back against the window, still looking around for some way out. Anything. And then it stopped. The green glow faded.
"Data to Captain Picard... do you read me Captain?" Data said on com.
"Picard here." he said and keyed it.
Data was at the computer panel. Riker was keeping guard on Orton and the Waiter in the b.g. and everyone looked a little woozy still.
"Are you all right, Captain?" he asked.
"Yes." Picard said.
"Sir, an unidentified scout ship has just beamed someone off the Enterprise. Do you know anything about it?"
"I know they won't get very far." he said low.
At Ten Forward the ship rocked slightly from the o.c. explosion.
Picard was still looking out the windows.
He unclenched his hand and looked down.
Then he helding the safety pin from the thermos which he had surreptitiously removed during the scuffle.
At sickbay Beverly was patching up Picard's bumps and bruises with a medical device.
"Hold still... you've got a nasty cut here..." she said aa Deanna entered.
"Any luck?" Picard asked Deanna concerned.
"I'm sorry, Captain. I don't know what could've happened to it." she said.
Riker entered.
"I've had three security teams search deck seven and they couldn't find anything." he said shaking his head.
Picard's face fell.
"Hold still. I can't heal this cleanly if you keep fidgeting." Beverly said firm.
Worf finally entered, awkwardly holding Picard's saddle by one stirrup.
"I found it, Captain. Someone put it in a maintenance locker." he said.
"Thank you." Picard said and took his satled.
Worf looked puzzled at Picard.
"You keep a saddle on board?"
"Worf, I'm surprised at you..." Riker said.
"Any experienced rider would naturally have his own saddle." Beverly said.
"It's perfectly normal." Deanna said
"Of course." Worf said.
"It came in very handy." Picard said. "I just wish I'd had a chance to use it on a horse."