Disclaimer: I don't own Star Trek. I am merely borrowing it, and there's nothin' anyone can do about it.
Author's notes: Thanks for being so patient, people. I had a book report to write, along with a lot of other homework. Thanks for the lovely reviews!
New! Author's rant of the day: Stupid people are so annoying! When I take over the world, gods, deities and omnipotent beings help you if you are stupid, cause you aren't getting any of my sympathy or protection.
On with the story! Yeah!
Zandile rubbed her eyes to ward off the spots dancing in front of them. Using her telepathic powers to hide herself from these aliens slowed her natural healing ability. She and Data were on top of a ridge outside some sort of military base that Data had picked up on his tricorder.
"Are you feeling OK, Lieutenant?" Asked Data. He had seen her rubbing her eyes, and now proceeded to scan her head with the tricorder.
"I'm fine, Commander," replied Zandile.
"Your concussion seems better, but I am no doctor." He said after a moment. He turned the tricorder back towards the base. "I am scanning only 5 guards posted at intervals around the entrances. There are 2 guards posted outside the hangar door, and one guard for each small door," said Data. "As a security officer, how do you propose we gain entrance to the base, Lieutenant?"
"I was thinking of sneaking in. We can't blend in like we did at the Romulan base. See that door over there?" She pointed to a small door in the corner of the building, almost invisible in the gathering darkness of dusk.
"Yes." Said Data.
"I've been watching. The guard on that door is less attentive. We can cause a disturbance to draw him away, and he won't pay attention to his post." Said Zandile. "Just fire a phaser and set a bush on fire to distract him."
"Good idea, Lieutenant," said Data. "We will gain access to the base and make our way to the hangar, where I have scanned several antimatter signatures, indicating warp drive vehicles."
"How did you get your tricorder to scan inside the building? Mine is blocked or something." Queried Zandile, looking over Data's shoulder to see the readout screen.
"I will show you later, Lieutenant. We have more important things to do." Data pulled out his phaser and fired at a bush about 20 meters away from the guard on the door they chose. It burst into flame and the guard yelled in surprise. Zandile could hear his mental yells, too, asking for his comrades to come and investigate.
"Now!" said Data, pushing Zandile toward the base. She had been transfixed by pain brought on by hearing the mental yells with a mind still boggled from her concussion.
"We have to go in another door!" She whispered urgently, as they made their way toward the base, hiding in the dense shadows. "The guard is calling his buddies, leaving the other side unguarded."
Data didn't reply, but he did change his trajectory toward another door. The guards were all standing around the bush, looking confused. Zandile could hear their mental conversation contemplating the cause of the fire. The guard they had tried to distract pointed up the ridge, where Zandile and Data had been hiding, where the phaser beam had come from. One of the guards went up the ridge and looked in the bushes where they had been hiding.
They were able to get in the door with few problems. Zandile scanned the door, making sure that no alarms were going to go off, then melted the lock with her phaser. Zandile concentrated as much as her pounding headache let her, trying to hear if anyone was nearby without letting them hear her mind's presence.
As they made their way to the hangar, she had to lean on the wall occasionally, the pain of her concentration made her headache progressively worse. They took several alternate routes to avoid people, snaking through already mazelike corridors and using the tricorders to scan their way.
"We are almost there," said Data. "I scan 10 people inside the hangar. We will have to distract them or disable them. Are you up to it, Lieutenant?"
Zandile took a deep breath, "Let's do it."
Back on the Enterprise, things were almost back in order. The knockout gas had been cleared from the crew quarters and everyone had been revived without too many ill affects from their ordeal. Doctor Crusher was still fretting over the incident, complaining that they should have knocked out the crew to begin with.
Commander La Forge had cleaned up Engineering and recalibrated the almost sabotaged engines.
Deanna Troi and Captain Picard, however, had the sad duty of telling Zandile Rey's little sister, Lynette that her sister was missing, presumed dead. Deanna looked at the captain, feeling his feelings, while they were in the turbolift. They both hated this part of the job the most. No matter how many times they had to do this, it was never easy.
"Captain, someone should go back to that planet and just make sure that…" Deanna trailed off, but Captain Picard knew what she was going to say.
"Counselor, you and I both know that that isn't possible. Even if your cousin Zarin knew how to pilot a shuttle, it would put him in undue risk for nothing."
"It isn't nothing, Captain," said Deanna with a tinge of anger and sadness in her voice. "If they are still alive, they can be brought back, and we won't have to tell Lynette Carson that her sister and guardian is gone. First her mother dies, then her father can't take care of her, and now this." A tear slid down Deanna's cheek, and she wiped it away. The turbolift arrived near Zandile's quarters, and the door opened. The captain and counselor stepped off, and rang the doorbell to Zandile's (now Lynette's) quarters.
The door to the base's hangar opened, admitting Data and Zandile. They each fired their phasers on stun twice, knocking out 3 guards before they even had a chance to react. A firefight ensued. Four more guards were knocked out within 30 seconds, and Data was shot in the arm. His circuitry was exposed, but undamaged, and distracted the remaining 3 guards. Two were hiding behind an ideal shuttle, so Data and Zandile had to be careful not to damage it. The third was knocked out during the distraction.
The last two looked like military officers. They were wearing blast shields obscuring and protecting their faces, and shot with good accuracy. They were blowing apart the workstation that Data and Zandile were hiding behind. With a nod to each other, the two Starfleet officers split up and went different directions away from their hiding place. Zandile used sharpshooter abilities to shoot one of the guards, but the other was firmly entrenched. He aimed at Zandile, and fired. Zandile dodged the full blow of the shot at the last second, but the phaser-type weapon burned her anyway. She fell. Data was able to get behind the man, and he was stunned.
Data went over to Zandile, who had gotten up, but was favoring a leg with severe burns. She limped quickly into the small ship, helped by Data. The last thing she saw as she collapsed in a dead faint was Data, investigating the controls of the shuttle.
Lynette answered the door chime and was surprised by the Captain and Counselor Troi outside her door. "Hello," she said, confused. "Can I help you? My sister is still on duty."
"May we come in?" Asked Captain Picard.
Lynette's face fell when she saw how grave the officers looked. "Sure," she replied, and ushered them inside.
"Do you know about the planet we were investigating?" Asked Captain Picard awkwardly as he sat on the couch.
Lynette looked even more confused. "Yeah, that one where the people are afraid of outsiders. Word travels fast on this ship."
Deanna gave Lynette a weak smile. Captain Picard continued. "Those people were ready and willing to kill us all. I sent Commander Data and your sister on a mission to shoot the sensor satellites of the planet so we could pass by the planet. They completed their mission, but…"
"No!" exclaimed Lynette tears springing to her eyes.
"I'm terribly sorry, Lynette, but your sister knew the risks. She and Data saved us all by completing the mission."
"No, no, no." Lynette started crying.
Deanna soothed her. "It's going to be OK," soothed Deanna. "Just cry, you'll feel better."
I'm sorry if there are mistakes, but I'm going to put it up now and fix it later if there are problems. Please review!