Miko
The hike through the trees and brush was long and tiring. Most of the area was covered thickly with trees, limiting the vision of the away team. The proximity of the Calisium Titronate, the chief was hesitant to beam them directly to their destination. So instead, they walked.
As they closed in upon the month of the cave, Geordie gave a quiet shrieked and whispered, "Data, watch it, will you?" after being hit in the face once again by a branch.
"I apologize, Geordie. I was not aware that I had been causing you discomfort," Data said. Geordie nodded his head in a way to accept the apology and continued on, cutting in front of Data to avoid the branches for the last leg of the hike.
/-/-/-/-/-/
Twenty minutes later, they were at the cave entrance. Inside, all they could see was the darkness… but no one seemed to be in there. Riker crouched down, trying to get a better look. But nothing could be seen.
Instead, he signaled to Data to take point and look around. Data stood and, with no effort to hide or protect himself, walked the two meters to the cave. Quickly Data surveyed the area and found that no one was in there.
He took out his flashlight, allowing him better vision. He found that he was in a large, circular cavern, the ceiling nearly eight meters high. On the wall, mounted torches where set but none were lit.
Data turned, hearing a splash. His yellow eyes searched around himself, looking to see if anyone had entered. Then he looked down to see that it was he who had stepped in the large puddle.
Easily, he shrugged off what had happened and turned to shine the light on the away team. Riker stood and nodded to the others to follow him. Quickly, the other three joined Data, Riker stepping in the puddle, his pant leg getting wet.
"There… is a small water formation there."
"Thank-you, Data. I can see that now," Riker replied sarcastically, before aiming his light toward the back. His eyes caught the fork in the back of the cavern. "Alright, Geordie and I will go left, you two head right. Check it out and be back here in one hour. If either one hasn't arrived by then, leave and get help. Got it? No exception." Data, Worf, and Geordie nodded and headed off.
/-/-/-/-/-/
Slowly, Riker and Geordie made their way down the long corridor. It seemed as though it would go on forever.
In the past twenty minutes, they had only managed to find one entrance, but it had been a dead end.
Both of phasers were in hands, ready to be fired at anyone who provoked the use of them. And in the other hand, they had their flashlights pointing their way and desperately looking for anything that might indicate someone- anyone- was there.
Which is exactly what they got.
Suddenly, something hit both of Geordie's and Riker's arms, causing them to drop their flashlights and phasers. Then, with a practiced ease, the duo's arms were grabbed and pulled hard behind their backs. They had no time to react. And realized immediately that, if they tried to struggle in this position, they could easily brake an arm or dislocate a shoulder.
The captors pushed both of them roughly up against the wall, then quickly searched their person to find anything they could, presumably hidden weapons. Riker's captor found nothing more.
But Geordie was spun around, making it so the engineer could see his captor's face. It was set in a hard, uncaring scowl, giving his gray eyes an eerie look. The man reached inside the sweater-like shirt and, to Geordie's horror, pulled out a hypo.
The man gave an evil grin and showed off the prize to his partner in crime. Geordie tried to use this distraction to his advantage by kneeing him in the stomach but didn't succeed. The way that his captor had him pined on the wall and the way he was leaning made it impossible for Geordie's knee to hit his stomach.
But he could reach something else. The captor doubled over in pain. Geordie ran around the man and helped Riker by hitting his captor in the chest. Just as Geordie had practiced in the holodeck, he kneed him in the back and pushed him out of the way.
Together, the two ran off in the direction they came but quickly skidded to a stop: there in front of them was five other Hagan. Geordie and Riker now had nowhere to go with the other two behind them. With a quick glance at Riker, the two gave in.
When Geordie's captor caught up to him, he gave Geordie a swift kick in the stomach, obviously pay back. Then he grabbed him again and pushed him along the hall, not caring if he hurt his captive or not.
/-/-/-/-/-/
It took at least ten minutes but Riker and Geordie finally reached where they were going. The gaggle of people halted outside of an opening, the entrance shielded by about a hundred beaded strings hung from the frame. One of the Hagan pushed the beads aside and allowed the other's access before entering himself.
Once inside, Riker could see that it was a large, circular room made of large slabs of stone that had whither away over time. Inside the room, it was damp and cold but well lit. A hundred or so people sat or laid in large groups going about their own business.
Riker and Geordie were paraded down the largest aisle, people stopping what they were doing to look at them as they went. It gave Riker a very uncomfortable feeling but he tried his best not to show this for he was reluctant to give them the satisfaction of knowing this.
When they reached the end, Riker could then see that it was Lwaxana and T'Pic sitting on a stone slab, guarded by three Hagan. The two were then tossed onto the slab next to the Ambassadors.
"Well, that was a pathetic attempt at a rescue mission if I ever saw one," Lwaxana commented, not even looking at them.
"Actually, it's going just as planned," Riker said, his words mocking confidence.
"You don't even have a plan, do you?" Lwaxana said, her words more of a statement than a question.
"No. But I do have good news to tell you."
"So important that you got yourselves captured?" Lwaxana snapped at him.
"I-" Riker attempted to tell her but was cut off by one of the Hagan.
The man was tall but wore a long cloak hiding his face, just as most everyone there. Behind him was the man who had searched Geordie, his eyes still cold and uncaring.
"What is this?" the first man asked. He held up a hypospray. Riker's brows creased as he looked over at the Hagan and then at Geordie.
"It's a hypospray. It injects medicine into a person's body," Riker explained, looking back to the Hagan.
His eyes eventually drifted back to Geordie as he remembered that Crusher had pulled him out of the transporter room for a moment. Geordie was beginning to sweat despite the cold temperature in the cave. He was holding his stomach, looking as if he was about to be sick.
Perhaps Crusher had talked to him about being sick for the simple kick wouldn't have done that to Geordie. But she wouldn't have let him on the away mission? Or she would have at least confided in him.
Riker looked back at his captor holding the hypospray that might save his friend's life. He twirled it in his hands, almost as if he was taunting Riker with it. Showing him that he had complete control and Riker could do nothing about it.
The other Hagan whispered something into the man's ear, the Hagan turning his attention toward Geordie. "This is yours?" Geordie merely nodded, fearing that if he would vomit if he opened his mouth . "What is in this? What medication are you using?"
Geordie locked eyes with his commander and friend. Riker seemed just as curious to know, worried that Geordie was in great danger without it. Geordie then looked back at his young captor and obvious leader of the Hagan in the cave. He looked into his gray eyes, only seen because he had moved his hood back to show his brown hair and blue spots.
Geordie took a deep breath and said only one word, "Morphenolog." Riker's head snapped back to look at Geordie. He was no longer looking at anyone. Even the two Ambassadors had looked at him.
Riker couldn't have heard him right. Morphenolog? That was a strong painkiller. And a very addictive substance if take too many times within so many hours. For some that used it, they start to have a mental- sometimes physical- need to use it in greater and greater amounts each time. It can take a mere few hours before withdraw starts.
This had been a simple chapter in first aid classes. Riker sighed, thinking back and recalling what happened:
First, they go through sever stomach cramps, nausea, and sweating.
Second, they have chills, panic attacks, sometimes loss of appetite, and insomnia.
Geordie was at stage one. From what Riker had heard, it only takes about an other hour to hit stage two. After that, it wouldn't be another time before he would hit the worst part. Riker just hoped that he could get him out of there before Geordie grew any worse… or he could die.
"What is this morphenolog for?" The leader asked.
"It's pain medication. It… dulls pain," Geordie responded, his voice weak and stuttering. The leader turned around to face the other Hagan and pointed him away from the prisoners.
Riker looked at his friend and subordinate. He wanted to chew him out for such a stupid mistake but saw the man's weariness. He dragged Geordie up against the wall, trying to make him as comfortable as possible. "Get some rest," Riker ordered.
Geordie was shocked, having expected Riker more than anyone else to yell at him. He sighed, slipping his eyes closed. He wasn't deluded enough to believe that Riker would stop there, nor would Crusher, but he would rest for then.
Main Cave
It had been over an hour sine they had entered the cave. Worf and Data waited patiently in the first chamber for the others to return.
After finding five dead ends, the two had opted to head back. The Commander and LaForge were now five minutes late- according to Data- and the pair was uncertain what they should do.
Data had been given a direct order to leave after one hour. Not any longer nor any shorter but it was at Worf's plea and Data's conscience- if you could call it that- that had made them stayed as long as they had.
"Commander Riker would not be late unless he had been injured or captured-"
"Or both," Worf interrupted in his deep, Klingon voice. "They may be in great danger."
"We should go. Commander Riker instructed us to leave and get help for them if they were not back on time."
Worf nodded, not entirely reluctantly, and led the way out. He spared one last glance at the tunnel before stepping out into the sun.
