Continued...
Early the following morning Khwaja arrived to escort Scotty down to the ship's engine room. Chekov was left isolated in the living compartment, a guard stationed outside. He wandered around the room inspecting every piece of furniture as he pondered his plan of escape. It was dangerous, but it might work.
Chekov took a deep breath and began to pound frantically on the door that led to the hall. "Meester guard! There is smoke coming from the refresher in my sleeping quarters! Something's on fire!"
The door slide open and the Andorian entered. He motioned with the phaser in his hand for Chekov to stand back. Then he quickly coded the door lock and stepped toward the sleeping quarters. "Which room?" he asked, a faint lisp in his words. "The first one," Chekov pointed, his hand brushing against the alien's bluish arm. A soft hiss filled the air and the Andorian crumpled to the floor.
Chekov slid the hypospray back into its concealed compartment on his belt. "Never know vhen some hydrochloride might come in handy," he muttered as he bent to pick up the dropped phaser.
Chekov set the phaser on stun before slipping into the hall. To the left were several doors; to the right the hall continued several meters before splitting in two directions. Hefting the phaser in his hand, Chekov turned to the right. At the intersection was a small computer console. Chekov crossed his fingers for luck before touching the computer.
No alarms sounded.
Taking a deep breath, Chekov set to work. First he found and memorized the ship's coordinates; a sigh of relief welled up inside of him when he discovered they were still in orbit around Bidoah. Then he called up the ship's map and learned as much of the layout as he could. Finally he gazed apprehensively at the screen. "Computer, list all cargo on board or scheduled for loading."
Stepping softly down the hall Chekov turned a corner and paused outside a lift. Once inside, Chekov leaned against the wall and sighed.
"Where to, sir?" The computer's voice, deep and metallic, interrupted his thoughts.
"Engineering."
The lift began to move, a sharp jolt accenting its movement. Chekov shook his head. "Nowhere near the quality of the Enterprise," he thought smugly.
The engine room was a disaster. Cables lay stretched across the floor, wires hung in colorful disarray, Goudchaux's men rushed about the room, and Scotty stood king in the midst of it all.
"Not over there, ya fool! Put it against the wall!" Scotty shook his head in disgust. "I'm surrounded by idiots," he muttered under his breath.
Chekov strode boldly from the lift and was immediately engulfed by the confusion. He tried to blend in by grabbing a toolbox and heading down the hall. He casually slid by Scotty, trying to catch the engineer's eye. Unfortunately, he collided into Moray Morgain and she immediately recognized him.
"Hey! How did you get here?"
Chekov dropped the toolbox and turned to run but Morgain tackled him before he'd taken three steps. The two tumbled down to the floor and landed at a pair of booted feet -- Chen's.
Scotty stumbled into the bare room; he had just enough time to flatten himself against the wall before Chekov came flying through the door. The ensign groaned, a lump blossoming on the top of his head from where he'd collided with the wall. He sprawled on the floor and nursed a split lip for several moments before turning to the engineer. "Vell?"
"Ach, lad, the store-rooms are sealed up tight. They wouldn't let me any closer than three meters."
Chekov felt the knob on his head carefully. "I searched the computer. Vhatever they have, it's classified. "
Scotty slid to the ground before holding out his hand. "I noticed you dropped something."
Chekov leaned forward to peer at the object in Scotty's clenched fingers. "I did?"
Scott's hand slowly relaxed, a gleam of light reflected off of the smooth surface of the phaser.
Chekov whistled in appreciation and stood to his feet. He examined the room carefully, his thoughts back on the ship layouts he'd seen in the computer. "This ship doesn't have a brig so this room might not be shielded." He lightly smoothed his hair as he turned to face the wall furthest from the door. "If you cut through the wall here we should find a repair-shaft. Then we can vorry about getting to that store-room."
Scotty wielded the small phaser and faced the wall grimly. "Get back, lad. This won't be pretty."
Chekov slipped the phaser in his pocket and touched the door tentatively. It had already cooled enough for him to touch and he pushed it open with his hand. He entered the store-room and stood aside for Scotty to enter. A soft purring filled the air.
Scotty gazed about the room and turned to the ensign. "We've got to stop 'um, laddie." His voice was low.
Chekov opened his mouth, but the blaring of an alarm filled the air before he could speak. He grabbed Scotty's arm and dashed back into the engine room. Tossing aside the grating of the ventilation system, he shoved Scott toward the dark tunnel. The engineer scrambled inside, Chekov close on his heels.
They crawled for several moments in silence, the faint noise of the alarm fading in the thick walls. "I think they know we've escaped," Chekov gasped between breaths. He tugged on Scotty's ankle. "Let's get to the transporter room."
Scotty nodded, not sparing any air, and continued down the tunnel. He stopped a moment later and peeked through the grating into a hall. "Clear," he tossed over his shoulder. He reached out with his hands, grasped the woven metal and pushed for all he was worth. It gave suddenly and clattered to the floor. He squeezed out of the confines of the tunnel and reached out a hand to Chekov.
The ensign clambered into the hall. "I think it's that way," he said, pointing to the left. He hadn't taken two steps when a shout was heard from behind, and a flash of phaser fire toppled Scotty.
Chekov dropped to the floor next to the engineer a mere instant before an energy beam filled the air where he'd been standing. He glanced at the prostrate figure and sighed in relief. Scotty was breathing; he must have only been stunned. Down the hall, he glimpsed Moray Morgain leveling a phaser in his direction. He jumped to his feet and dashed around the corner, desperately tugging at the weapon in his pocket.