Twelve

*Picard*

Captain's Log, Stardate 46366.4

The hostage situation involving Wesley Crusher has grown in severity, with my three of my senior officers now held prisoner alongside him. We are unable to transport them or attempt to rescue them manually. I am grasping at straws for ideas.

"What did he mean though?" I paced around the meeting table. "'Don't blow your top?' Surely he was trying to tell us something. Speculate."

"It's unusual for Commander Riker to make such a specific comment," Geordi answered. "Perhaps he was referring to a geyser in the cave or something."

"My scans of the cave and its surrounding formations do not indicate any presence of geysers," Data revealed. "The only water-related feature present is an underground lake, about twelve meters deep and three meters wide."

"Are there any unusual natural phenomenon down there?" I asked.

"Our sensors detected nothing out of the ordinary, Captain," Ensign Ro spoke. "But there above the lake there is a dome-shaped structure-"

"Perhaps he was asking us to find a way to blow a hole through the roof!" Geordi snapped his fingers. "If we can get a seismic simulator module in that lake, I can vibrate the water molecules to the degree where they'll create a geyser."

"The question is," I muttered. "if it'll be strong enough to penetrate the rock."

"If necessary we could generate multiple pulses," Data suggested. "But there is no way to determine how many it will take to cause the cave to collapse."

"Can you give me an estimate?" I returned to my seat.

Geordi sighed. "I would say no more than three or four at the most, sir."

"Mister Data, I want you and Geordi to prepare this module," I ordered. "You'll also have to find a way to give it legs."

Data furrowed his brow. "I do not understand, sir."

"Data, he means that we have to make it able to get into the water without someone physically placing it there." Geordi explained.

"Ah. I see."

"How long will you need, Geordi?" I said, shifting in my seat.

"It's gonna take time to replicate some gears and mechanisms. I would say about two to three hours."

"Very well. Take the time you need, but hurry. We need to get them up to sickbay as soon as possible. Dismissed."

I stared out the window as my crew left. It seemed Data would soon become my Number One.