Hello. I have finally written the next chapter of this fic. Sorry about
the delay. School started this week and I was delivering phonebooks, it
was a mess. Anyway please enjoy. I know that in a previous chapter I said
that Picard would not know who was aboard until chapter five but I changed
that idea. It only seemed logical when I thought about it. The next
chapter will definitely deal with the huge technological difference.
Expect those experiences to be funny. Just wait for the holodeck! Read
and review. It helps me to write better.
**********************************************************************
Vash awoke to the sound of the door chime. He opened his eyes and noticed that he had fallen asleep on the couch. As he lifted his head, he noticed his wife and daughter sleeping on the bed. He also noticed that this was the first time, since the bounty was placed on his head, that he had felt safe while he was sleeping. There was something about this...
His thoughts trailed off as the door chime sounded again and he remembered why he woke up in the first place.
"Come in." He called to the door. After a few visitors, one had explained the customs that they follow for entering rooms. After that, he understood how to let people in the door before they came barging in.
A man with a yellow shirt underneath the black and gray uniform entered the room. Vash noticed his one gold button and figured it was a low ranking officer. Despite his reputation for being an idiot, he was actually intelligent. Vash also noticed the weapon that was called a 'phaser' at his side and came to the conclusion that he was security.
"The Captain sent me to escort you to the Briefing Room." He said.
"Ok." Vash started as he looked at the sleeping forms of his family. "Let them sleep. Let's go get Knives."
"Follow me." The security man said as he walked out of the door. One door down was where Knives and Milly were staying. As the officer reached to activate the control panel, Knives walked out.
"I'm ready to go." Knives responded to the unspoken question.
"Huh? Why are you so alert?" Vash asked. He was still drowsy from just waking up.
"One, I caught your thoughts when security was speaking to you. Two, I remembered what time the Captain wanted to meet us and asked the computer to alert me an hour before."
"How did you know how to work the computer?" Vash asked. He still wasn't conscious enough to add anything up.
"I asked about the time measurement and how to get the computer to tell me when it was. You idiot." Knives reprimanded. He thought that his brother would have gained at least some common sense in the last 136 years.
"If you're done," the security officer began. He was used to passengers arguing in the corridors. "Follow me, please." He walked towards the turbo lift.
Upon entering the briefing room, Vash and Knives were amazed at the elegance of it. Not even the finest hotels on Gunsmoke were this nice. The first noticeable item was the long polished black table with padded chairs around it. Vash followed the table to its end and seen a display of some schematic that resembled the ship they were on. Then it suddenly changed to something else. While Vash was admiring the viewer, Knives focused his sight on the glory of the windows. The view he had had never taken his breath away until now. The curve of the planets surface along with two of the five moons visible. Then he recognized one moon. It was the fifth moon with the hole that Vash had drilled into it.
At the table there were four people. Vash recognized the one at the head of the table as Picard. To his left was Worf. The one to the Captain's right was a dark skinned man that wore yellow underneath the black and gray. He looked rather normal, but Vash seen something that wasn't right in his eyes. The next man also wore yellow underneath the black and gray and his skin was pale. Vash had never seen skin that color before. Vash then looked into his eyes. Vash immediately recoiled back when he seen that they were gold in color.
"Gold eyes." Vash muttered as he took another step backwards. Knives realized his brother's distress and looked to see what he was talking about. Vash had only known one person with gold colored eyes.
"That is because I am an Android." He responded.
"Android?" Knives questioned as his brother started to relax again. "What is an Android?"
Before the man could respond, Picard spoke up. "Vash, Knives please have a seat. We will get to your questions in a moment. Geordie, continue."
As Vash ad Knives sat down at the end of the table farthest from Picard, the dark skinned man started speaking.
"It's like I was saying before Captain. We should have full power in another four hours at tops. Most of the damage from the wormhole was minimal, but the overloads knocked out the power inverters. We also had one plasma conduit develop a crack. That wormhole did us a number." He finished.
"What damage? What wormhole? What is going on?" Vash and Knives spoke in unison.
"This is Commander LaForge, our chief engineer." Picard began. "This is Commander Data and Lieutenant Commander Worf, whom you already know. We have a few questions for you."
"Can we ask a few also?" Vash asked innocently.
"Yes of course. But we would like to have a basic grasp of how you came to land on that planet." Picard responded.
"Ok. Ask away." Knives spoke.
"What kind of propulsion did your ships have and how were they powered?" LaForge asked.
Vash and Knives looked at each other. "We don't know what propulsion they used, but the Plants are what powered them." Vash responded.
"You have referred to yourselves as 'Plants.' Are you saying that sentient life powered your ships?" Picard asked.
"Yes Captain. The Plants choose to serve the humans by giving them a means of survival." Knives responded. He had discovered the same information years ago after his fight with Vash. He wished he had learned it sooner.
"How did the humans come to crash on this planet?" Data asked.
Knives didn't want to answer.
"I think you should explain this one." Vash spoke. E knew that the memory would hurt his brother, but they couldn't hide things from these people. The whole table stared at Knives waiting for a response.
"It was my fault." He finally admitted. And went on to explain the events of that day and the following years.
*********************************************************************
Meryl woke up to find her daughter missing from her arms. At first she believed she was in her own house and had had an elaborate dream about space flight and other people. All she could remember was that her daughter was in her arms when she fell asleep. As she closed her eyes to drift back into her dream, she glanced at where her nightstand would have been to check the time.
She bolted up in the bed. She was now fully awake and starting to panic because she was not where she thought she was. The room was streamlined and elegant. More elegant than any house or hotel se had ever been in. More elegant than even Mr. Cliffs mansion. As she searched the room for her missing daughter, she began to remember the events of the last few days. Se found her daughter sitting in front of the thing that was called a replicator. At that thought, she then remembered how great it was and began to relax. They were safe in this place. Something that neither her nor Vash had experienced since meeting all those years ago.
"Rem where's your father?" Meryl asked finding her voice again.
"Aunt Milly said that they went to see the Captain." The girl responded still staring at the replicator.
"Then where's Milly?" Meryl asked. She wasn't quite sure how to take that Vash was talking to the Captain.
"She said she would be right back. She went to get something from her room." Rem was still fixated on the replicator.
Meryl finally took the hint Rem was leaving. "Are you hungry honey?" It was a stupid question for Vash's child, but she asked it anyway.
"Can I have doughnuts?" Rem jumped up from the floor and clasped her hands together.
"Let's eat something that's better for you." Meryl stated as she walked up to the replicator.
"Now how do I work this again?" Meryl spoke as she tried to remember her instructions.
"Specify desired food." The computer voice came back. It once again made Meryl jump out of her skin. At that moment, Milly walked in carrying a bowl of pudding.
"What's the matter?" Milly asked as she watched her friend recover.
"The thing told me how to use it!" Meryl said after taking a few deep breaths. "I guess I'm not used to it speaking yet." She regained her composure and walked back towards the alcove of the replicator.
"What am I gonna have for breakfast Mommy?" Rem started pleading. She had been waiting for her mother to get up to get her something to eat.
"What would be a healthy breakfast for a girl that looks ten years old?" Meryl spoke out loud as she tried to think of something. "I know." She turned to face the computer console. "Two pancakes, two scrambled eggs, two strips of bacon, and a glass of orange juice." He stepped back and waited for the items to finish materializing. She handed the plate and glass to her daughter, who sat at the table and began eating.
"What do you think Knives and Vash are doing?" Milly asked.
"I don't know." Meryl responded.
************************************************************************
Picard and the others took the news of the last 136 years on Gunsmoke rather well. Knives and Vash had explained how Knives tried to kill off all of the humans, explained the course of 100 years before the destruction of July, the destruction of July, the subsequent bounty on Vash, the events leading up to the destruction of Augusta, the destruction of Augusta, the fall of Sky City, the fight between the two, and the last five years of love and peace between Vash and Knives. All of the people at the table were deep in thought. Vash and Knives were thinking about how they would escape the ship, and the others were placing all of the pieces together.
Picard broke the silence. "How were you able to destroy two full cities without killing a single soul?" Picard was amazed that such a feat was possible.
Vash was in shock. He had expected Worf to arrest them both and proceed to collecting the bounty. Picard's question started him. "Why do you want to know how I destroyed the cities?"
"I'll explain it." Knives spoke up. They apparently had a lot of luck right now. He wasn't going to end that anytime soon. "It is what we have called the 'angel arm.' Originally I developed the weapon for us to kill off the humans. In the end, it only caused destruction not death. In the destruction of July, Vash shot me at point blank with it."
"And you can use this weapon at will?" Picard asked. He began to look at this from a different point of view.
"In a sense yes." Knives answered. "But we need the revolvers that were confiscated from us. Those contain parts that a Plant gave me to create immense power. I then was able to focus it into a beam. When fired, the end of the barrel produces a large beam and a spherical blast area. When the beam connects to anything, it creates a second sphere of destruction. As in the instance that involved Augusta and the fifth moon."
"I see." Picard began again. "Since we have no jurisdiction over your planet we cannot try you for any crime. However, in light of your explanations, we now have an explanation of human presence in this galaxy."
Vash nearly passed out. Knives almost fell out of his chair. Neither of them could believe what had just happened.
"Now you have questions for us. Am I correct?" Picard spoke once again.
Vash came out of his state of shock and looked back at Picard. This was a man that didn't judge them for being different, didn't want the bounty, and completely disregarded the fact that he and his brother had caused so much destruction. Ash thought he was dreaming.
Knives regained enough composure to respond to Picard. "Where did you come from?"
"We came from the other side of a stable wormhole. However, due to its unique features, we were unprepared for what it would cause." Data responded.
"That just went over my head. What is a wormhole?" Vash asked.
"A wormhole is a special anomaly that transports ships across great distances of space. In this case, we have traveled over 700,000 light years." Data answered again.
"700,000 light years!" Vash responded with wide eyes. "That would have taken the SEEDS ships over a million years to cross! How fast does this ship go without a wormhole?"
"This ship can attain a maximum velocity of warp 9.99." Data answered yet again.
"Warp 9.99? How fast is that?" Knives asked.
"Its around 7,000 times the speed of light depending on the conditions in space." LaForge answered. He didn't want Data to have all of the fun.
Vash and Knives were struck silent. They were having trouble grasping what amount of technology this ship had.
"Can we tour the ship?" Vash started. "I want to see all of the technology you have and how it works." Knives looked at Vash.
'They are probably going to say no. You shouldn't have asked.' He reprimanded mentally.
'Its worth a shot I think Knives.' Vash responded over the link.
"Of course. Mr. Data, would you mind escorting them around?" Picard stated.
Vash and knives ended their metal badgering when Picard spoke. Vash hadn't expected them to allow a tour.
"I would be honored sir." Data spoke. "Where would you like to begin?" He asked the two confused Plants.
"Lets go get Milly, Meryl and Rem. They will want to see this too." Knives said as they all stood up.
"Thank you for your time. If you'll excuse me, I have other business to attend." Picard said as he left the room.
************************************************************************
Riker was fed up with this planet. The away team had learned nothing useful from the local population. He was about to report to the Captain. What he was going to report, he didn't know.
"Will," Deanna called as she walked up to him in the hotel lobby. Beverly was right behind her. "We have only found that the energy source for the cities is some type of power plant. Everyone just calls them Plants though."
"It goes with everything else." Riker was slightly annoyed. "I'm going to report that the general population has no idea of their current situation, or any other worlds. It is a solid class one society."
"Ok. Lets go get something to eat before beaming up." Beverly began. "The salmon sandwiches are really good."
"I'll tell the desk that we are checking out." Riker added. "I'll also inform the Enterprise to beam up the items in our rooms." Riker stood and walked towards the desk.
"Deanna, let's go so we can beat the crowd." Beverly insisted.
"I have never seen you act this way before. All over a sandwich?" Deanna asked.
"It is like the same thing with you and chocolate." Beverly replied referring to the councilors love of the sweet.
As they headed out of the door, Riker turned from making his arrangements with the desk and headed up the stairs. He entered his room for the last time and activated his communications link.
"Riker to Enterprise. Beam up all of the designated items at previously mentioned coordinates. Away team will beam up within the hour. Riker out." As he waited, the entire room was filled with glowing blue particles. The cloths, a few local items, and some soil and water samples were all transported back to the Enterprise.
'After living in this environment, I'm going to be glad to be back on the Enterprise.' He thought. His happy thoughts of returning home were interrupted by a sound that he had rarely heard. The sharp clap and echo of a small explosion ringing through the walls and his ears gave him a slight chill. The sound repeated itself and he then recognized it. Gunfire. He ran down the stairs and out of the front door of the hotel. He turned in the direction of the noise and seen a vehicle parked in front of the building that was the local bank. His eyes darted from one detail to the next until he found what he was looking for.
Deanna and Beverly had been walking towards the sandwich shop when five men in a vehicle pulled up next to the bank. As they walked by the front doors, the men jumped from the vehicle grabbing them both and proceeded to shoot into the air. They had become hostages in a bank robbery.
Riker instinctively reached down to his side for his phaser that he normally had. When the smooth contours did not meet his hand he panicked.
"That was stupid." He remarked to himself. He remembered that his phaser was among the objects he had beamed up to the ship earlier. "What am I going to do?" ***********************************************************************
I'm gonna get hurt cause that is where I want to leave you all hanging today. I have found that if I leave it as a bit of a cliffhanger that you will all come back for the next chapter. Anyway, please review.
**********************************************************************
Vash awoke to the sound of the door chime. He opened his eyes and noticed that he had fallen asleep on the couch. As he lifted his head, he noticed his wife and daughter sleeping on the bed. He also noticed that this was the first time, since the bounty was placed on his head, that he had felt safe while he was sleeping. There was something about this...
His thoughts trailed off as the door chime sounded again and he remembered why he woke up in the first place.
"Come in." He called to the door. After a few visitors, one had explained the customs that they follow for entering rooms. After that, he understood how to let people in the door before they came barging in.
A man with a yellow shirt underneath the black and gray uniform entered the room. Vash noticed his one gold button and figured it was a low ranking officer. Despite his reputation for being an idiot, he was actually intelligent. Vash also noticed the weapon that was called a 'phaser' at his side and came to the conclusion that he was security.
"The Captain sent me to escort you to the Briefing Room." He said.
"Ok." Vash started as he looked at the sleeping forms of his family. "Let them sleep. Let's go get Knives."
"Follow me." The security man said as he walked out of the door. One door down was where Knives and Milly were staying. As the officer reached to activate the control panel, Knives walked out.
"I'm ready to go." Knives responded to the unspoken question.
"Huh? Why are you so alert?" Vash asked. He was still drowsy from just waking up.
"One, I caught your thoughts when security was speaking to you. Two, I remembered what time the Captain wanted to meet us and asked the computer to alert me an hour before."
"How did you know how to work the computer?" Vash asked. He still wasn't conscious enough to add anything up.
"I asked about the time measurement and how to get the computer to tell me when it was. You idiot." Knives reprimanded. He thought that his brother would have gained at least some common sense in the last 136 years.
"If you're done," the security officer began. He was used to passengers arguing in the corridors. "Follow me, please." He walked towards the turbo lift.
Upon entering the briefing room, Vash and Knives were amazed at the elegance of it. Not even the finest hotels on Gunsmoke were this nice. The first noticeable item was the long polished black table with padded chairs around it. Vash followed the table to its end and seen a display of some schematic that resembled the ship they were on. Then it suddenly changed to something else. While Vash was admiring the viewer, Knives focused his sight on the glory of the windows. The view he had had never taken his breath away until now. The curve of the planets surface along with two of the five moons visible. Then he recognized one moon. It was the fifth moon with the hole that Vash had drilled into it.
At the table there were four people. Vash recognized the one at the head of the table as Picard. To his left was Worf. The one to the Captain's right was a dark skinned man that wore yellow underneath the black and gray. He looked rather normal, but Vash seen something that wasn't right in his eyes. The next man also wore yellow underneath the black and gray and his skin was pale. Vash had never seen skin that color before. Vash then looked into his eyes. Vash immediately recoiled back when he seen that they were gold in color.
"Gold eyes." Vash muttered as he took another step backwards. Knives realized his brother's distress and looked to see what he was talking about. Vash had only known one person with gold colored eyes.
"That is because I am an Android." He responded.
"Android?" Knives questioned as his brother started to relax again. "What is an Android?"
Before the man could respond, Picard spoke up. "Vash, Knives please have a seat. We will get to your questions in a moment. Geordie, continue."
As Vash ad Knives sat down at the end of the table farthest from Picard, the dark skinned man started speaking.
"It's like I was saying before Captain. We should have full power in another four hours at tops. Most of the damage from the wormhole was minimal, but the overloads knocked out the power inverters. We also had one plasma conduit develop a crack. That wormhole did us a number." He finished.
"What damage? What wormhole? What is going on?" Vash and Knives spoke in unison.
"This is Commander LaForge, our chief engineer." Picard began. "This is Commander Data and Lieutenant Commander Worf, whom you already know. We have a few questions for you."
"Can we ask a few also?" Vash asked innocently.
"Yes of course. But we would like to have a basic grasp of how you came to land on that planet." Picard responded.
"Ok. Ask away." Knives spoke.
"What kind of propulsion did your ships have and how were they powered?" LaForge asked.
Vash and Knives looked at each other. "We don't know what propulsion they used, but the Plants are what powered them." Vash responded.
"You have referred to yourselves as 'Plants.' Are you saying that sentient life powered your ships?" Picard asked.
"Yes Captain. The Plants choose to serve the humans by giving them a means of survival." Knives responded. He had discovered the same information years ago after his fight with Vash. He wished he had learned it sooner.
"How did the humans come to crash on this planet?" Data asked.
Knives didn't want to answer.
"I think you should explain this one." Vash spoke. E knew that the memory would hurt his brother, but they couldn't hide things from these people. The whole table stared at Knives waiting for a response.
"It was my fault." He finally admitted. And went on to explain the events of that day and the following years.
*********************************************************************
Meryl woke up to find her daughter missing from her arms. At first she believed she was in her own house and had had an elaborate dream about space flight and other people. All she could remember was that her daughter was in her arms when she fell asleep. As she closed her eyes to drift back into her dream, she glanced at where her nightstand would have been to check the time.
She bolted up in the bed. She was now fully awake and starting to panic because she was not where she thought she was. The room was streamlined and elegant. More elegant than any house or hotel se had ever been in. More elegant than even Mr. Cliffs mansion. As she searched the room for her missing daughter, she began to remember the events of the last few days. Se found her daughter sitting in front of the thing that was called a replicator. At that thought, she then remembered how great it was and began to relax. They were safe in this place. Something that neither her nor Vash had experienced since meeting all those years ago.
"Rem where's your father?" Meryl asked finding her voice again.
"Aunt Milly said that they went to see the Captain." The girl responded still staring at the replicator.
"Then where's Milly?" Meryl asked. She wasn't quite sure how to take that Vash was talking to the Captain.
"She said she would be right back. She went to get something from her room." Rem was still fixated on the replicator.
Meryl finally took the hint Rem was leaving. "Are you hungry honey?" It was a stupid question for Vash's child, but she asked it anyway.
"Can I have doughnuts?" Rem jumped up from the floor and clasped her hands together.
"Let's eat something that's better for you." Meryl stated as she walked up to the replicator.
"Now how do I work this again?" Meryl spoke as she tried to remember her instructions.
"Specify desired food." The computer voice came back. It once again made Meryl jump out of her skin. At that moment, Milly walked in carrying a bowl of pudding.
"What's the matter?" Milly asked as she watched her friend recover.
"The thing told me how to use it!" Meryl said after taking a few deep breaths. "I guess I'm not used to it speaking yet." She regained her composure and walked back towards the alcove of the replicator.
"What am I gonna have for breakfast Mommy?" Rem started pleading. She had been waiting for her mother to get up to get her something to eat.
"What would be a healthy breakfast for a girl that looks ten years old?" Meryl spoke out loud as she tried to think of something. "I know." She turned to face the computer console. "Two pancakes, two scrambled eggs, two strips of bacon, and a glass of orange juice." He stepped back and waited for the items to finish materializing. She handed the plate and glass to her daughter, who sat at the table and began eating.
"What do you think Knives and Vash are doing?" Milly asked.
"I don't know." Meryl responded.
************************************************************************
Picard and the others took the news of the last 136 years on Gunsmoke rather well. Knives and Vash had explained how Knives tried to kill off all of the humans, explained the course of 100 years before the destruction of July, the destruction of July, the subsequent bounty on Vash, the events leading up to the destruction of Augusta, the destruction of Augusta, the fall of Sky City, the fight between the two, and the last five years of love and peace between Vash and Knives. All of the people at the table were deep in thought. Vash and Knives were thinking about how they would escape the ship, and the others were placing all of the pieces together.
Picard broke the silence. "How were you able to destroy two full cities without killing a single soul?" Picard was amazed that such a feat was possible.
Vash was in shock. He had expected Worf to arrest them both and proceed to collecting the bounty. Picard's question started him. "Why do you want to know how I destroyed the cities?"
"I'll explain it." Knives spoke up. They apparently had a lot of luck right now. He wasn't going to end that anytime soon. "It is what we have called the 'angel arm.' Originally I developed the weapon for us to kill off the humans. In the end, it only caused destruction not death. In the destruction of July, Vash shot me at point blank with it."
"And you can use this weapon at will?" Picard asked. He began to look at this from a different point of view.
"In a sense yes." Knives answered. "But we need the revolvers that were confiscated from us. Those contain parts that a Plant gave me to create immense power. I then was able to focus it into a beam. When fired, the end of the barrel produces a large beam and a spherical blast area. When the beam connects to anything, it creates a second sphere of destruction. As in the instance that involved Augusta and the fifth moon."
"I see." Picard began again. "Since we have no jurisdiction over your planet we cannot try you for any crime. However, in light of your explanations, we now have an explanation of human presence in this galaxy."
Vash nearly passed out. Knives almost fell out of his chair. Neither of them could believe what had just happened.
"Now you have questions for us. Am I correct?" Picard spoke once again.
Vash came out of his state of shock and looked back at Picard. This was a man that didn't judge them for being different, didn't want the bounty, and completely disregarded the fact that he and his brother had caused so much destruction. Ash thought he was dreaming.
Knives regained enough composure to respond to Picard. "Where did you come from?"
"We came from the other side of a stable wormhole. However, due to its unique features, we were unprepared for what it would cause." Data responded.
"That just went over my head. What is a wormhole?" Vash asked.
"A wormhole is a special anomaly that transports ships across great distances of space. In this case, we have traveled over 700,000 light years." Data answered again.
"700,000 light years!" Vash responded with wide eyes. "That would have taken the SEEDS ships over a million years to cross! How fast does this ship go without a wormhole?"
"This ship can attain a maximum velocity of warp 9.99." Data answered yet again.
"Warp 9.99? How fast is that?" Knives asked.
"Its around 7,000 times the speed of light depending on the conditions in space." LaForge answered. He didn't want Data to have all of the fun.
Vash and Knives were struck silent. They were having trouble grasping what amount of technology this ship had.
"Can we tour the ship?" Vash started. "I want to see all of the technology you have and how it works." Knives looked at Vash.
'They are probably going to say no. You shouldn't have asked.' He reprimanded mentally.
'Its worth a shot I think Knives.' Vash responded over the link.
"Of course. Mr. Data, would you mind escorting them around?" Picard stated.
Vash and knives ended their metal badgering when Picard spoke. Vash hadn't expected them to allow a tour.
"I would be honored sir." Data spoke. "Where would you like to begin?" He asked the two confused Plants.
"Lets go get Milly, Meryl and Rem. They will want to see this too." Knives said as they all stood up.
"Thank you for your time. If you'll excuse me, I have other business to attend." Picard said as he left the room.
************************************************************************
Riker was fed up with this planet. The away team had learned nothing useful from the local population. He was about to report to the Captain. What he was going to report, he didn't know.
"Will," Deanna called as she walked up to him in the hotel lobby. Beverly was right behind her. "We have only found that the energy source for the cities is some type of power plant. Everyone just calls them Plants though."
"It goes with everything else." Riker was slightly annoyed. "I'm going to report that the general population has no idea of their current situation, or any other worlds. It is a solid class one society."
"Ok. Lets go get something to eat before beaming up." Beverly began. "The salmon sandwiches are really good."
"I'll tell the desk that we are checking out." Riker added. "I'll also inform the Enterprise to beam up the items in our rooms." Riker stood and walked towards the desk.
"Deanna, let's go so we can beat the crowd." Beverly insisted.
"I have never seen you act this way before. All over a sandwich?" Deanna asked.
"It is like the same thing with you and chocolate." Beverly replied referring to the councilors love of the sweet.
As they headed out of the door, Riker turned from making his arrangements with the desk and headed up the stairs. He entered his room for the last time and activated his communications link.
"Riker to Enterprise. Beam up all of the designated items at previously mentioned coordinates. Away team will beam up within the hour. Riker out." As he waited, the entire room was filled with glowing blue particles. The cloths, a few local items, and some soil and water samples were all transported back to the Enterprise.
'After living in this environment, I'm going to be glad to be back on the Enterprise.' He thought. His happy thoughts of returning home were interrupted by a sound that he had rarely heard. The sharp clap and echo of a small explosion ringing through the walls and his ears gave him a slight chill. The sound repeated itself and he then recognized it. Gunfire. He ran down the stairs and out of the front door of the hotel. He turned in the direction of the noise and seen a vehicle parked in front of the building that was the local bank. His eyes darted from one detail to the next until he found what he was looking for.
Deanna and Beverly had been walking towards the sandwich shop when five men in a vehicle pulled up next to the bank. As they walked by the front doors, the men jumped from the vehicle grabbing them both and proceeded to shoot into the air. They had become hostages in a bank robbery.
Riker instinctively reached down to his side for his phaser that he normally had. When the smooth contours did not meet his hand he panicked.
"That was stupid." He remarked to himself. He remembered that his phaser was among the objects he had beamed up to the ship earlier. "What am I going to do?" ***********************************************************************
I'm gonna get hurt cause that is where I want to leave you all hanging today. I have found that if I leave it as a bit of a cliffhanger that you will all come back for the next chapter. Anyway, please review.