Chapter 42

Bait and Switch


Government Palace

Kressia, Bajor

October 21, 2377

5pm

Captain Riker and Commander Troi were walking back to their shuttle when they were ambushed by some Bajorans. "Freeze! You're coming with us," said one of the Bajoran terrorists. Riker tried to fight back, but was hit with a bolt from a PPG. It just stunned him, and he was able to watch as they injected something into his wife and knocked her out. She tried to fight back, managing to slap one of the terrorists. Riker tried to get up, but he was overcome by the impact of the PPG blast. He did however see, to his amazement, a piece of skin fall from the nose of one of the terrorists. Another of the terrorists looked at him, then spoke into a comm link. "Free Mars," he said, and they were beamed away.

When Riker came to, he was in a medical facility. He saw Garibaldi handling that same piece of skin. Garibaldi noticed that Riker was awake and motioned to one of the Bajoran doctors. He came up to Riker's bedside, and held out the prosthetic. "Looks like that it wasn't the Bajorans who took your wife. We ran DNA traces over the crime scene, and couldn't find any recent samples. The path you two were on isn't traveled much, so you were out for a long time."

Tessa Halloran, the former Martian resistance fighter turned ISA intelligence chief, came into the room and informed Garibaldi of the latest. "Bajoran intelligence detected a Cardassian transporter signature near the crime scene, but we can't find any trace of Cardassian DNA at the scene."

Riker sat up and said in a pained voice, "The last thing I heard before passing out was one of the kidnappers say into a comm link, 'Free Mars'. Does that have any meaning?"

Halloran's face went blank, and Garibaldi looked at her curiously, "Look, I used to be in Free Mars, and we were radical and did some pretty stupid things. But even we wouldn't stoop to this level!"

Garibaldi interjected, "I doubt it'd be them anyway. I mean, why? Mars is an independent member of the Earth Alliance now, and Hollifield has worked to get us even more independence from the EA. It's not in their best interest."

Riker said, "Perhaps it's not someone from your universe?"

Halloran said, "Nah, they said it for a reason. They had to have. That's why they didn't kill you, because they wanted us to hear it."

Garibaldi walked around, deep in thought, finally making his way to the window. "The question is, why grab Troi? What does it mean? We pretty much can eliminate Free Mars, because (a) they don't have a motive and (b) why grab Troi when there are much more valuable targets to the EA to grab, like me for example. The Bajorans wouldn't do it, because why use a Cardassian transporter for the job to frame them right now?"

Halloran mused, "Could it be a Cardassian splinter group, unhappy with the current government?"

Riker replied, "It's possible. But I doubt it, because a Bajoran high-ranking official would be more valuable to them. And why would they want to mess with the Federation?"

Garibaldi turned back to the two of them and said, "It's not them either, although they could have helped. Someone made Troi a target for a specific reason."

Odo came into the room and walked up to Garibaldi. Without saying a word, he handed him something. Garibaldi looked at it and grunted, then showed it to Halloran and watched her face react in shock to the item. Odo rumbled, "Well, we have an idea who it is."

"Yeah, we do, and I have an idea who dropped this. C'mon, we've got to let Riker get some rest.," said Garibaldi, who left with Odo and Halloran. Riker lay back down on the bed, with a worried look on his face.

Aboard a Cardassian shuttle

9pm

Deanna Troi was lying on her cot inside her cell, trying to remain calm and focused. Her Starfleet training was being put to the test right now, and she tried to figure out how to get out of here. The first duty of a prisoner is to escape was the first lesson she learned in dealing with being taken prisoner, but escaping a spaceship not on a world would be difficult indeed. So she focused on the second duty: gaining as much intelligence as you can, even if it seems irrelevant.

The door opened to her cell, and two human guards came in and grabbed her, practically dragging her with them. From the way her head felt, she could tell that they were telepaths, but certainly not Betazoid. They brought her into a room and sat her down forcibly into a chair and restrained her.

What she saw next almost made her faint from shock, because she saw what looked like herself staring at her with a sinister grin.

"Well, look at what the cats dragged in! You have no idea as to why you are he, do you, my dear Deanna? Well, all will be revealed soon enough. Not that you can do anything about it. You see, I intend to take your place aboard your ship, at the side of your husband. Making love to him,because I want my fringe benefits. However, I need your help to do my job. You don't really have an option, because I am a much more powerful telepath than you ever could hope to be. I was rated P12 back when there was a Psi Corps, and I intend to use my abilities to help bring down our enemies.

"Now just sit back, relax, because I'm coming into your mind!"

Troi jerked back as the full force of the scan hit her, and she screamed aloud in pain as Falkia probed deeply into her mind. Falkia was tempted to rip her mind apart, but she was a disciplined soldier, and Bester's orders were to leave her as she found her. She didn't scan her gently, though.

After a long time, Falkia exited her mind, and had all the memories and personality traits she needed to complete her task. Troi collapsed in the chair, only being held up by the restraints. Falkia ordered the guards to take her back to her cell, then sat down in another chair,
rubbing her temple.

"How did it go," asked Bester.

Falkia looked up and saw her mentor before her. "It went better than expected. She had no blocks to speak of in her mind. I have more than I need to complete my task."

"Good. We'll arrange for the shuttle to be detected and picked up by the Federation soon. We'll implant a device to fool the DNA scanners inside you to help you escape detection before you go. How much longer do you need to prepare?"

Falkia thought for a moment and then said, "Two more days to help my body get the proper stress of being kidnapped and to finish preparation. What will you do with Troi?"

Bester grinned and said, "Oh, I have plans for her!"