Reach for the Stars
Chapter one -- Abducted
~*~
Li rolled over under her bedcovers, possibly for the twentieth time in five minutes, trying to get settled. She sighed. Something didn't feel right... physically everything was fine, but something in the back of her mind wouldn't let her be. It was far beyond her understanding as to why, but then again, it probably didn't need an explanation for now.
Sighing again, the fourteen-year-old girl decided a walk would do her some good. She slowly removed the covers, slid onto the carpeted floor of her room and padded over to her dresser. After a bizarre episode with a stuck drawer, she managed to extract a pair of jeans and a shirt, then stumbled into her bathroom to change.
It was some time before Li had made her way out into the hall, carrying her tennis shoes in one hand and sneaking through the house in her socked feet. She finally reached the back door without disturbing her parents, much to her relief, and put on her shoes before exiting out the door.
The cool night air felt refreshing to Li, since had always enjoyed the Fall months. She took in a deep breath, tasting the air as it rushed in and out of her lungs. It had seemed like it had been forever since she'd felt a cool autumn breeze...summer was always too long for her. She allowed her mind to wander as she ambled around her backyard, close to the edge of the woods behind the house. Her thoughts trailed off to different things, but she was distracted as something caught her attention. She'd spotted a faint blue glow out of the corner of her eye, coming from somewhere in the woods. The girl glanced at it, staring until it disappeared into the darkness, then began to wonder.
"What was that?" She asked, as if waiting for the air to reply. "I've never seen anything like that before..." Her natural sense of curiosity was ringing a bell in her mind, begging her to go see. She tried to refuse its pleas for no more than a minute, then decided a look wouldn't be harmful and galloped off into the woods.
Hushed voices met Li's ears as she stopped and crouched down in the dirt and leaves. She tried to hear their conversation, but although it was English she couldn't pick up any of the words said. The voices suddenly died and seemed to fade into the night. Li could still tell someone was nearby still, and stood to look around.
A small gleam caught her eye, and bending down she found it to be a bizarre-looking ray gun of sorts; smooth and basic in design, but the buttons and the viewscreen weren't like anything she'd ever seen before. She picked up the small device, examining it closely, and pushed a couple of buttons on the side. When she glanced at the viewscreen, a small green bar had apparently been charged all the way to the top. Another press of a button, and a red beam shot out, desentigrating an entire tree in front of her. Li gasped and looked at the gun as if it were a stick of dynamite. Carefully, she bent over and placed it on the ground, then preceeded to back away slowly.
Suddenly, she felt a tremendous explosion of pain burst in her head, just as if someone had hit her. The blow rendered her harmless and she fell down in a heap on the ground. A set of hands picked her up from off the ground just as darkness overcame her...
~*~
'Oh, my head...I hear voices...who's there...? Where am I...?'
Li slowly slipped into consciousness and opened her eyes carefully, almost afraid of what she might see. The world around her was white for an instant, then returned to normal color before her eyes... she figured that was a side-effect from being unconscious. She found that she was laying on a bed of sorts -- a very uncomfortable bed, to say the least. People were busily working all around her. They all wore black shirts and pants, but different people had either blue, yellow or red-colored breast sections on their shirts. 'How bizarre,' Li thought groggily. 'This is like something out of a movie...'
She now noticed that there were beds across from and on either sides of her, similar to the one she was laying on. There was one in the middle, however, with an odd arc-shaped attachement on top of it, giving it a slight resemblance to a tunnel. She seemed to be the only person laying down on these tables, which made her feel akward and out of place.
When she sat up and tried to stand, a woman in a black and blue outfit and light blue, long sleeved doctor's jacket rushed over to her, her short auburn hair in slight disarray. "Hold on, you don't need to be on your feet yet," she declared, calmly helping Li back into a laying down position. "You have a mild concussion from being knocked unconscious." The woman laughed softly. "I suppose we should tell Worf to be a little gentler next time."
Li cocked her eyebrow. "Um, I guess so...but I'm fine, actually..."
"Just stay put a second, kiddo, you'll be alright." The woman turned her back to Li, trying to assemble something on a small rolling table. "Do you mind telling me your name?"
"It's Li -- Li McCeahn. And if you'd like to let me go, I'd be--" she started to stand again as she spoke "--out of your way, Miss...ah..."
The woman smiled. "Please, it's Dr. Crusher -- and no, you're not in my way...actually, you're right where I need you to be..." She pulled a small silver rod, about the length of her hand, with a strange looking needle on the top set at a 90-degree angle. Li paled and felt her eyes grow wide -- she'd always HATED shot-needles.
"Y-y-you're not going t-to use that, are you?" She stuttered nervously. "C'mon, let's not be hasty, here, Doc..."
"Relax," Dr. Crusher said with a chuckle. "This won't hurt, I promise."
Li gulped. "It's not the pain I hate...it's just the needle part that makes me uneasy..."
The doctor shook her head. "There's no need to worry...oh, darn, I have the wrong one. I'll be back in a minute, OK?" As the red-headed woman disappeared into an adjoining room Li found the opportunity to slide off of the table and sneak towards a door-shaped slab of metal. The "door" slid open as she approached; Li laughed once to herself and slipped out the door before Dr. Crusher noticed her disappearance.
Chapter one -- Abducted
~*~
Li rolled over under her bedcovers, possibly for the twentieth time in five minutes, trying to get settled. She sighed. Something didn't feel right... physically everything was fine, but something in the back of her mind wouldn't let her be. It was far beyond her understanding as to why, but then again, it probably didn't need an explanation for now.
Sighing again, the fourteen-year-old girl decided a walk would do her some good. She slowly removed the covers, slid onto the carpeted floor of her room and padded over to her dresser. After a bizarre episode with a stuck drawer, she managed to extract a pair of jeans and a shirt, then stumbled into her bathroom to change.
It was some time before Li had made her way out into the hall, carrying her tennis shoes in one hand and sneaking through the house in her socked feet. She finally reached the back door without disturbing her parents, much to her relief, and put on her shoes before exiting out the door.
The cool night air felt refreshing to Li, since had always enjoyed the Fall months. She took in a deep breath, tasting the air as it rushed in and out of her lungs. It had seemed like it had been forever since she'd felt a cool autumn breeze...summer was always too long for her. She allowed her mind to wander as she ambled around her backyard, close to the edge of the woods behind the house. Her thoughts trailed off to different things, but she was distracted as something caught her attention. She'd spotted a faint blue glow out of the corner of her eye, coming from somewhere in the woods. The girl glanced at it, staring until it disappeared into the darkness, then began to wonder.
"What was that?" She asked, as if waiting for the air to reply. "I've never seen anything like that before..." Her natural sense of curiosity was ringing a bell in her mind, begging her to go see. She tried to refuse its pleas for no more than a minute, then decided a look wouldn't be harmful and galloped off into the woods.
Hushed voices met Li's ears as she stopped and crouched down in the dirt and leaves. She tried to hear their conversation, but although it was English she couldn't pick up any of the words said. The voices suddenly died and seemed to fade into the night. Li could still tell someone was nearby still, and stood to look around.
A small gleam caught her eye, and bending down she found it to be a bizarre-looking ray gun of sorts; smooth and basic in design, but the buttons and the viewscreen weren't like anything she'd ever seen before. She picked up the small device, examining it closely, and pushed a couple of buttons on the side. When she glanced at the viewscreen, a small green bar had apparently been charged all the way to the top. Another press of a button, and a red beam shot out, desentigrating an entire tree in front of her. Li gasped and looked at the gun as if it were a stick of dynamite. Carefully, she bent over and placed it on the ground, then preceeded to back away slowly.
Suddenly, she felt a tremendous explosion of pain burst in her head, just as if someone had hit her. The blow rendered her harmless and she fell down in a heap on the ground. A set of hands picked her up from off the ground just as darkness overcame her...
~*~
'Oh, my head...I hear voices...who's there...? Where am I...?'
Li slowly slipped into consciousness and opened her eyes carefully, almost afraid of what she might see. The world around her was white for an instant, then returned to normal color before her eyes... she figured that was a side-effect from being unconscious. She found that she was laying on a bed of sorts -- a very uncomfortable bed, to say the least. People were busily working all around her. They all wore black shirts and pants, but different people had either blue, yellow or red-colored breast sections on their shirts. 'How bizarre,' Li thought groggily. 'This is like something out of a movie...'
She now noticed that there were beds across from and on either sides of her, similar to the one she was laying on. There was one in the middle, however, with an odd arc-shaped attachement on top of it, giving it a slight resemblance to a tunnel. She seemed to be the only person laying down on these tables, which made her feel akward and out of place.
When she sat up and tried to stand, a woman in a black and blue outfit and light blue, long sleeved doctor's jacket rushed over to her, her short auburn hair in slight disarray. "Hold on, you don't need to be on your feet yet," she declared, calmly helping Li back into a laying down position. "You have a mild concussion from being knocked unconscious." The woman laughed softly. "I suppose we should tell Worf to be a little gentler next time."
Li cocked her eyebrow. "Um, I guess so...but I'm fine, actually..."
"Just stay put a second, kiddo, you'll be alright." The woman turned her back to Li, trying to assemble something on a small rolling table. "Do you mind telling me your name?"
"It's Li -- Li McCeahn. And if you'd like to let me go, I'd be--" she started to stand again as she spoke "--out of your way, Miss...ah..."
The woman smiled. "Please, it's Dr. Crusher -- and no, you're not in my way...actually, you're right where I need you to be..." She pulled a small silver rod, about the length of her hand, with a strange looking needle on the top set at a 90-degree angle. Li paled and felt her eyes grow wide -- she'd always HATED shot-needles.
"Y-y-you're not going t-to use that, are you?" She stuttered nervously. "C'mon, let's not be hasty, here, Doc..."
"Relax," Dr. Crusher said with a chuckle. "This won't hurt, I promise."
Li gulped. "It's not the pain I hate...it's just the needle part that makes me uneasy..."
The doctor shook her head. "There's no need to worry...oh, darn, I have the wrong one. I'll be back in a minute, OK?" As the red-headed woman disappeared into an adjoining room Li found the opportunity to slide off of the table and sneak towards a door-shaped slab of metal. The "door" slid open as she approached; Li laughed once to herself and slipped out the door before Dr. Crusher noticed her disappearance.