"Captain, long-range sensors show multiple ships approaching," Data informed Picard on the bridge, shortly after the fighters had been recovered. "There are two groups, one at zero-three-seven mark one-five, the other at two-eight-nine mark one-six."
"Can you identify them?" Picard asked.
"They appear to be Romulan warbirds, although I cannot tell exactly how many at this range."
"We can't stay here. Can we reach the firing point before they get here?"
"Doubtful. That point is still one point six hours away at warp eight, and the warbirds will reach us long before then."
"We have to abort the mission. Contact the other ships and inform them of the situation."
"Yes, sir."
Picard's ready room door beeped. "Come," he yelled in that direction. Fred walked in.
"Captain," he said.
"Yes, lieutenant," Picard answered.
"Sir, may I ask why we are leaving the system? We haven't found Sylvia yet."
"There are two groups of Romulan warbirds on an intercept course. We having been taking every measure to find her, but on scans of planet have not been very effective."
"Sir, we cannot simply leave her here."
"Yes, but neither can I risk four ships and the lives of all their crews to save one person."
"Why not? Riker did, when you were captured by the Borg. He risked the Enterprise-D and its crew to save you."
Picard remained silent. He still vividly remembered that terrible ordeal, and probably always would. "The task force must return to Earth," he said, "but if you would like to take your fighter and go looking for her, I won't stop you. I don't know what you can do, but you are welcome to try."
"Thank you, sir," Fred said, and he left the room. As the four ships withdrew from the area, a single Egret remained. It returned to the battleground in search of its lost sister.
Sylvia arrived at a river that had a few medium sized rocks in it. She could see the waterfall further upstream. She might have actually enjoyed this planet, if she didn't have to worry about such things as Romulans and if she would ever see the Federation again. At least there was plenty of water. She would not need the small pouches of water that came with the emergency rations. Sylvia was reluctant to eat any of the plants, not knowing if they are poisonous or not. She took a small device from the survival kit and collected some water with it. She waited a few seconds, and then drank some. There were enough trees near the bank of the river to keep her out of the heat of this system's two stars, but there were still not dense enough to hide her from any Romulans who may be on the planet looking for her.
Fred was beginning to wonder how much help he really could be to her. An Egret was only large enough for one person, so even if he found her, he could take her back to Earth. He would have to stay with her. What if know one ever came for them? What if he never found her? He tried to clear his mind of these thoughts. He entered the atmosphere of the planet and began looking for her. The target location that they had been given by Starfleet, although incorrect, may now help him. He decided to use this location to start his search. He knew approximately where her fighter was hit and she could not have made it very far on foot yet.
Sylvia heard a noise behind her. She quickly turned around, but saw nothing. She got up and watched the area for a while. Nothing happened for a few minutes, but then she saw a tree branch moving back and forth slightly, as if it had just been disturbed. Either there were indigenous life forms on this planet, or the Romulans had come. She looked back across the river. There was a large rocky formation on the other side. She headed down to the river and stepped up onto on of the rocks in it. Sylvia carefully walked across them to the other side. She then turned around again and watched the opposite bank. There was a creaking noise and more movement of the plants over there. Something was tracking her, but whatever it was, it was not very good at concealing itself. She went over to the rocky hill and climbed halfway up it. Keeping close to its surface to avoid being seen, she peered over the top. Two Romulans emerged from the forest and began looking around the surrounding area. Then one of them said something to the other. Good, she thought. They appeared to have lost her. Now what? She watched them for a while. Neither one of them every looked up at hill she was hiding on. Sylvia wondered where they came from. They were not carrying any equipment except for disruptor rifles, so there must be a Romulan outpost or ship nearby. Then she realized something. If there was a warbird in orbit, it would have beamed her up already. Sylvia decided to play it safe and let the Romulans have the next move.
Fred reached the location where the target was supposed to have been and followed their course from the battle as best as he could remember it. He flew low in the hopes of spotting terrain that might indicate he was on the right path. There was the waterfall. He checked the sensor readout. Three life forms, one human and two Romulan.
"Oh, shit," he said to himself. He knew that Sylvia was in immediate danger. He finished scanning the area. He discovered a small Romulan scout ship in a clearing a short distance from the three life signs. He wondered why they landed on the surface instead of just beaming down. Then he remembered that he hadn't seen much from his own sensors before getting considerably low in the planet's atmosphere. There was something about this place that made scanning from orbit virtually impossible. Were the Romulans doing it? That didn't matter now. He kept far enough away from the life signs to avoid being noticed and landed his own craft a short distance behind Sylvia's hill. Fred left his Egret there and proceeded towards the river.
Sylvia kept watching the two Romulans on the opposite bank. They spoke briefly again, and then went back into the forest. They had apparently assumed that she wasn't here. She was glad that they were finally gone. Lying prone on a steep rocky hill wasn't exactly comfortable, but it had worked. She waited for a few minutes more, then stood up and climbed down. At the bottom, she brushed the dust and dirt off of herself. At that moment, Fred entered the clearing around the river and saw Sylvia at the base of a pile of rocks. He ran over to her, not thinking that his sudden appearance would no doubt alarm her.
She heard footsteps behind her. It sounded like someone running, but the Romulans were on the other side of the river. And they had gone. When she turned around and saw Fred, she didn't know what to think. She had seen him and John go on to the target, and assumed that they had eventually returned to the Enterprise and continued with the mission. Fred reached her and threw his arms around her, relieved to find her alive and at least not seriously injured. She returned his warm embrace, albeit still trying to figure out what the hell he was doing here. After a short time, he let go of her.
"Fred? What the hell are you doing here?" she asked him.
"What do you think?" he said. "I came to help you. No one else would. I landed my fighter over that way, about five minutes away." She smiled, realizing that it was not important exactly how he intended to help her, just that he had risked his life to come to her. She hugged him again. "Thanks," she said.
"Can you identify them?" Picard asked.
"They appear to be Romulan warbirds, although I cannot tell exactly how many at this range."
"We can't stay here. Can we reach the firing point before they get here?"
"Doubtful. That point is still one point six hours away at warp eight, and the warbirds will reach us long before then."
"We have to abort the mission. Contact the other ships and inform them of the situation."
"Yes, sir."
Picard's ready room door beeped. "Come," he yelled in that direction. Fred walked in.
"Captain," he said.
"Yes, lieutenant," Picard answered.
"Sir, may I ask why we are leaving the system? We haven't found Sylvia yet."
"There are two groups of Romulan warbirds on an intercept course. We having been taking every measure to find her, but on scans of planet have not been very effective."
"Sir, we cannot simply leave her here."
"Yes, but neither can I risk four ships and the lives of all their crews to save one person."
"Why not? Riker did, when you were captured by the Borg. He risked the Enterprise-D and its crew to save you."
Picard remained silent. He still vividly remembered that terrible ordeal, and probably always would. "The task force must return to Earth," he said, "but if you would like to take your fighter and go looking for her, I won't stop you. I don't know what you can do, but you are welcome to try."
"Thank you, sir," Fred said, and he left the room. As the four ships withdrew from the area, a single Egret remained. It returned to the battleground in search of its lost sister.
Sylvia arrived at a river that had a few medium sized rocks in it. She could see the waterfall further upstream. She might have actually enjoyed this planet, if she didn't have to worry about such things as Romulans and if she would ever see the Federation again. At least there was plenty of water. She would not need the small pouches of water that came with the emergency rations. Sylvia was reluctant to eat any of the plants, not knowing if they are poisonous or not. She took a small device from the survival kit and collected some water with it. She waited a few seconds, and then drank some. There were enough trees near the bank of the river to keep her out of the heat of this system's two stars, but there were still not dense enough to hide her from any Romulans who may be on the planet looking for her.
Fred was beginning to wonder how much help he really could be to her. An Egret was only large enough for one person, so even if he found her, he could take her back to Earth. He would have to stay with her. What if know one ever came for them? What if he never found her? He tried to clear his mind of these thoughts. He entered the atmosphere of the planet and began looking for her. The target location that they had been given by Starfleet, although incorrect, may now help him. He decided to use this location to start his search. He knew approximately where her fighter was hit and she could not have made it very far on foot yet.
Sylvia heard a noise behind her. She quickly turned around, but saw nothing. She got up and watched the area for a while. Nothing happened for a few minutes, but then she saw a tree branch moving back and forth slightly, as if it had just been disturbed. Either there were indigenous life forms on this planet, or the Romulans had come. She looked back across the river. There was a large rocky formation on the other side. She headed down to the river and stepped up onto on of the rocks in it. Sylvia carefully walked across them to the other side. She then turned around again and watched the opposite bank. There was a creaking noise and more movement of the plants over there. Something was tracking her, but whatever it was, it was not very good at concealing itself. She went over to the rocky hill and climbed halfway up it. Keeping close to its surface to avoid being seen, she peered over the top. Two Romulans emerged from the forest and began looking around the surrounding area. Then one of them said something to the other. Good, she thought. They appeared to have lost her. Now what? She watched them for a while. Neither one of them every looked up at hill she was hiding on. Sylvia wondered where they came from. They were not carrying any equipment except for disruptor rifles, so there must be a Romulan outpost or ship nearby. Then she realized something. If there was a warbird in orbit, it would have beamed her up already. Sylvia decided to play it safe and let the Romulans have the next move.
Fred reached the location where the target was supposed to have been and followed their course from the battle as best as he could remember it. He flew low in the hopes of spotting terrain that might indicate he was on the right path. There was the waterfall. He checked the sensor readout. Three life forms, one human and two Romulan.
"Oh, shit," he said to himself. He knew that Sylvia was in immediate danger. He finished scanning the area. He discovered a small Romulan scout ship in a clearing a short distance from the three life signs. He wondered why they landed on the surface instead of just beaming down. Then he remembered that he hadn't seen much from his own sensors before getting considerably low in the planet's atmosphere. There was something about this place that made scanning from orbit virtually impossible. Were the Romulans doing it? That didn't matter now. He kept far enough away from the life signs to avoid being noticed and landed his own craft a short distance behind Sylvia's hill. Fred left his Egret there and proceeded towards the river.
Sylvia kept watching the two Romulans on the opposite bank. They spoke briefly again, and then went back into the forest. They had apparently assumed that she wasn't here. She was glad that they were finally gone. Lying prone on a steep rocky hill wasn't exactly comfortable, but it had worked. She waited for a few minutes more, then stood up and climbed down. At the bottom, she brushed the dust and dirt off of herself. At that moment, Fred entered the clearing around the river and saw Sylvia at the base of a pile of rocks. He ran over to her, not thinking that his sudden appearance would no doubt alarm her.
She heard footsteps behind her. It sounded like someone running, but the Romulans were on the other side of the river. And they had gone. When she turned around and saw Fred, she didn't know what to think. She had seen him and John go on to the target, and assumed that they had eventually returned to the Enterprise and continued with the mission. Fred reached her and threw his arms around her, relieved to find her alive and at least not seriously injured. She returned his warm embrace, albeit still trying to figure out what the hell he was doing here. After a short time, he let go of her.
"Fred? What the hell are you doing here?" she asked him.
"What do you think?" he said. "I came to help you. No one else would. I landed my fighter over that way, about five minutes away." She smiled, realizing that it was not important exactly how he intended to help her, just that he had risked his life to come to her. She hugged him again. "Thanks," she said.