Thanks to Captainkodak1, Parareru, Zaratan, JMAN2.0, strength-91-possibility-none, daywalkr82, Moss Royal, JPMod, calamite, mattb3671, Louis Mielke, surforst, whitem, Yuri Sisteble, Markv1.0, Ezbok58a, kemiztri, jaminevr, Jak4, Commander Argus, Darkcloud1, WhiteLadyoftheRing, Morsamare, TexasDad, chefjet, ComputerSherpa, Theta-Alpha-One, Cabriel, momike, Wanderer3, conan98002, Dixon-San, Emerald Dark Knight, campy, Visigoth29527, vanillalillies, kpandron, Ulimate Naco Topping, Slyfer, and Molloy for reviewing.
Thanks to everyone else for reading.
A special thank you, as always, to campy for his invaluable beta and proofing work; he seems to have enjoyed the targ, so I've sent another batch, this time with Diablo sauce.
Remember: write a review, get a personal response beamed directly to your email box!
Just a reminder: if you haven't checked out The Darkness Within, the collaborative GWA effort in which I'm participating, do so now. You won't be disappointed. Three chapters are up and a fourth is coming soon.
Thanks to everyone who reviewed Failure Is Not An Option. If you haven't read it yet, why not give it a try … you never know what kind of surprises you may find out there in fanfic-world.
KP belongs to Disney, TNG to Paramount.
Kim in TNG uniform! Since a number of you have asked in reviews and emails which uniform Kim is wearing, I've posted a drawing of "real world" Kim and Ron, both in 24th century togs, on my dA page. Just go to my FF net author profile page and follow the link to my devART page to find the pic.
I.
Kim sprung to her feet and assumed a defensive position, facing Shego, who stood between her and Ron.
"You look angry, Princess. Were you attached to him?" Shego said with a wicked grin.
Kim seethed. Head in the game. Head in the game. I have to keep my head in the game, she repeated in her mind. She knew she couldn't help Ron if she wasn't fully engaged with the situation and wholly in command of her emotions. Kim silently glared at her foe.
"Well, if you weren't," Shego gibed, "and he survives, I might just keep him for myself. He may be kind of goofy looking, but I've always wanted my own personal chef."
"I don't know who you are," Kim finally snarled, "but you'll pay for hurting him."
"I don't think so, Possible," Shego said much to Kim's evident surprise. "Oh yes, I know all about you, Starfleet," she added with a predatory smile before launching into an attack which Kim barely avoided.
Kim pivoted on her left leg and kicked at Shego; Shego dodged. Kim quickly resumed her fighting stance. Shego responded with a kick of her own, which Kim just evaded. As Shego's leg sailed past Kim, Kim grabbed it and used the other woman's forward momentum to throw her. Shego landed in a sprawl, then quickly jumped up.
"Good reflexes, Princess," Shego sneered. "But can you handle this?"
Kim found herself looking at two plasma-enveloped hands. She slowly backed off, resurveying her surroundings.
"Why don't you run?" Shego taunted as she launched a series of plasma bolts at Kim, who responded by doing a series of back flips to avoid being hit.
Kim then saw the bat'leth from the corner of her eye; when Ron fell it had slipped free of its sheath. She lunged for the weapon, grabbed it, rolled, and sprung up. Kim held the blade expertly and confidently, communicating to Shego that she knew how to use it.
The two women warily gauged each other. Kim had more than enough evidence around her of just how dangerous her adversary was. And Shego was impressed with the young officer's skills and fortitude. She would actually be a challenge.
They had begun to slowly circle one another when the unmistakable sound of sirens began to pierce the air. A slightly open door, the noise of things crashing to the ground, and the sound of small blasts must have drawn somebody's attention, because local law enforcement appeared to be on its way. Shortly, they heard muffled voices; the authorities had arrived.
Shego spun around and leaped onto some crates. "Well, it's been fun, Princess, but we'll have to finish this another time. I'm outta here." In moments, she was gone.
Kim knew she, too, had to leave, and quickly. It would not do well for the local security personnel to find her with a possibly dead Ferengi, an injured Ron, and an unsheathed bat'leth, not to mention the plasma blast burns that scarred the warehouse. Still holding the Klingon weapon, she ran to Ron, knelt by his side and grabbed his hand. Then, with both their hands, she pressed her comm badge. "Possible to Aubrey. Initiate automated transport."
Kim and Ron dematerialized just as the T'klarian police, shouting at her to surrender, made their way around the barrier of toppled crates.
II.
Immediately after they materialized on the shuttle's small transporter pad, Kim checked to see if Ron had a pulse.
He did.
She let out a sigh of relief. He might be injured, but he was alive. She got up carefully, then gingerly moved him to the deck of the small spacecraft. Kim pulled up his shirt and swore as she saw the livid bruise from Shego's plasma blast covering his chest. She then grabbed a medical tricorder and ran it over him; his injuries weren't life threatening. Though Kim wanted to tend to his wound, she knew that her first priority now was to get out of the star system. She didn't know whether the authorities had actually seen her uniform before they beamed out; if they had, they might tie her to the orbiting Starfleet shuttle and decide to intercept. Then she and Ron would both be in a T'klarian jail, where he would receive no medical attention, instead of Enterprise's sickbay where he could be cared for, and she would have to let her perpetrator remain free and at large.
Kim had just sat down at the pilot's console when she saw that two T'klarian interceptors were heading in her direction.
Then she heard the message coming in over the comm system: "Federation shuttle, prepare to be escorted to Ras T'kar."
"So not going to happen," Kim muttered as she entered a series of commands.
"Repeat, Federation shuttle, prepare to be escorted to Ras T'klar."
"Sorry, can't hear you. Your transmission's breaking up," Kim replied as she turned the shuttle on its axis. Kim then throttled up the spacecraft's engines to one-quarter impulse, a dangerously high speed within a planetary system. Other ships, satellites, flying debris, meteors, and all sorts of hazards would have to be navigated, not to mention the remains of the two long-ago exploded moons that formed a shell around Ras T'klar. But Kim wanted to get away, and fast. She had to reach a position above the plane of the star system so she could safely go to warp. Kim hoped that her superior piloting skills and the fact that the interceptors would be flown by drones would allow her to make her escape.
The T'klarian ships followed. One of the interceptors fired at the shuttle, its disruptor beam just missing as Kim jinked. Another shot followed and the shuttle rocked. Kim did a quick check; nothing appeared to be damaged.
The shuttle was hit again; this time Ron rolled into a bulkhead and was jarred into consciousness. He sat up, ignoring the pain in his side, and looked forward to see Kim in the pilot's seat.
"Yo, KP, what up?"
Kim didn't even look back. "So can't talk now, Ron. Kind of busy." She saw from her displays that the interceptors were maintaining their pursuit. Time to see what this baby can do, Kim thought. "Get a seat or grab onto something," she ordered. "NOW!"
Ron got to his feet, and sat in the first available seat. "Okay, Kim, I'm …"
Kim jinked the shuttle at crazy angles, overwhelming the craft's inertial dampeners, as she dodged disruptor fire and continued to her destination.
Ron felt like he was about to throw up.
Kim still couldn't shake the T'klarians. Snap. They're good, she thought.
"Hey Kim, isn't this where you're supposed to fly over and behind them and then blow them up?"
"Ron, stop playing around. This isn't a holofilm!" she snapped.
"Well, sorry, I was just trying to help," he replied, sounding hurt.
"I know you were," she said in a more conciliatory voice, "but I need you to be quiet, please and thank you, so I can concentrate!"
Ron looked over at Kim, who was looking at her instruments with grim determination. He realized that Kim must have gotten him out of the warehouse, which meant she had somehow defeated, or at least held off, Shego. Worf was right: Kim really was a warrior. And even though Ron knew this wasn't the place to be self-indulgent, he once again began to feel incredibly inadequate, wondering what it was Kim could see in him.
III.
Kim was now drawing on all of her years of piloting experience. One of the benefits of being the daughter of the Federation's top starship designer was her access to space craft from an early age. It would have been inconceivable to James T. Possible that his daughter wouldn't know how to fly in space. So, at an early age, long before he really should have, he began to teach her himself. By the time Kim entered the Academy her piloting skills were so advanced that she was able to secure a place on the school's crack Nova Squadron aerobatics team.
Kim and her squadron mates had won the Rigel Cup her junior and senior years; but what they had to do then paled in comparison with what she was going to do now. Kim took a deep breath and entered the new coordinates into the onboard computer.
Ron, now seated beside her, looked out the view panel with horror.
"Uh, KP, you know you're flying into those, uh, asteroids?" he asked nervously.
"Yes, I do, Ron," she said curtly, but with just an edge of doubt. Then she looked at her best friend-turned-boyfriend and gave him a look that asked, "Please trust me."
Ron knew Kim well enough to know what she needed to hear from him. "Booyah! Looks like we're gonna see what this tub can do."
Kim flashed him a big grin then turned back to her controls. Ron could see that she was still smiling as she brought them closer to the debris field. Amazing what a little Ronshine can do, he thought.
IV.
"Okay, Ron, this may be a bit rough. Hold on!"
"You got it, KP!"
Ron refused to show it, but he was terrified. It wasn't that he didn't trust Kim. He just didn't trust the huge pieces of interstellar rock, each of which was spinning crazily on its own whack axis. Nor did he trust the two ships following them.
Kim began threading the needle of the debris field, avoiding the remains of the exploded moons and the disruptor fire from her pursuers. The small ship jerked left, right, up, down.
Ron found his gaze locked on Kim; he found her steely nerves to be incredibly attractive. And he did not want to look out the view panel.
"Stop staring at me, Ron!" Kim snapped. "It's making me nervous."
"Sorry, KP. Just couldn't keep my eyes off my bon-diggity girlfriend."
"There'll be time for that later, Captain Romance."
The confidence with which Kim uttered those words helped Ron settle down. Going into the debris field, Kim had been ever so slightly unsure of herself, as if the Kim he'd met on boarding Enterprise had returned. But now, once she was faced with an odds-defying sitch, she was rock-solid calm. Ron had no doubt that Kim believed she'd get them to safety, and if she had no doubts then he'd have none either.
Despite Kim's admonition, Ron peeked over and looked at Kim. He was surprised by the expression on her face. She was wearing an impish, almost evil, grin.
"Looks like we're going to try your holofilm move after all, Ron!" she said.
"Wha–" Ron began to ask before she pulled the shuttle into a sudden and steep curving ascent; the interceptors followed. Tracking all of the debris carefully, she suddenly shifted course and thrust her ship into reverse. Ron was thrown to the deck from his seat.
Kim watched with satisfaction as one of the interceptors hurtled into a small asteroid; Ron climbed back into his seat just in time to see the fireball vanish into the vacuum of space. "Booyah!" he cried out. "KP has come to play!"
Kim ignored Ron's good-natured show of support as the other interceptor continued the chase. She wasn't sure what she'd do next. Kim knew she couldn't count on the maneuver she'd just executed working a second time, knowing the drone would be on guard for that. She continued to snake her way at high speed through the debris field, all the while orienting the shuttle to the upper end of the star system's axial plane.
Kim took a quick look at the readouts, then made her decision. It would be risky, but they should still have sufficient fuel to make it to the rendezvous point with Enterprise.
"Ron, do you see the readouts and control for the fuel plasma?"
He looked around, then said, "Yeah, KP."
"Okay, at my mark, I want you to press the button marked 'vent.'"
"Uh, KP, are you …"
"Ron, trust me!"
"Okay …"
Kim navigated her way through some more debris, then broke out of the field and pushed the shuttle to maximum impulse speed.
"Now, Ron!" she ordered.
Ron did as he was told; a plume of plasma trailed the shuttle, momentarily interfering with the sensors of the drone.
"Stop, now!" Kim commanded. Ron complied. Then she jumped to warp.
Kim and Ron had effected their escape from Ras T'klar.
V.
"So her name is Shego. What else did you learn about her?" Kim asked, as she finally tended to Ron's wound.
"She traded the thingamabob she stole for some sort of trigger."
Kim's eyes opened wide. "A trigger? Ron, this is very important. Do you remember what kind?" Kim immediately began envisioning all sorts of nightmare scenarios involving mutagenic and sub-space explosives.
Ron screwed up his face and looked at the overhead of the shuttle. "Lemme think, Kim. I knew it before but then I got kinda distracted … Vertical. Virtual …"
"Verteron?" Kim asked, hoping Ron would tell her to try again.
"Yeah!" Ron answered brightly. "A verteron array trigger!"
"Snap," Kim swore, turning away from Ron and back to the console.
Ron was worried. "Kim, did I say something wrong?"
"Give me a moment, Ron. I have to get an encrypted message to Enterprise as soon as possible."
"Encrypted message. Why?" he asked, not always swift in putting two and two together. "Oh, I see. Whatever I just told you. How come? Oh wait, forget that. You probably couldn't tell me anyway. Top secret and all and you'd have to kill me, right?" Ron didn't like that possibility.
Kim smiled as she began the coding sequence for her transmission, then turned back to her boyfriend and his unique-in-the-universe way of looking at things. "Melodramatic much, Ron?" she asked lightheartedly. "No, I won't have to kill you. I just don't want the bad guys to find out what we know."
"And what's that?"
Kim turned serious again. "This assumes someone has all the other appropriate technology, which is so highly unlikely. But in a worst-case scenario, a verteron array trigger could be used to create an artificial wormhole."
"And let's just say I didn't know why that would be bad?"
"Ron, imagine a giant portal suddenly opening up next to Earth. And then imagine a fleet of Romulan Warbirds emerging unannounced."
"Oh, geez," Ron said.
"Pretty much," Kim said as she sent her message.
VI.
"Incoming secure transmission for you, Captain."
"I'll take it in my ready room; Number One, you have the bridge."
Jean-Luc Picard got up from his command chair and retreated to his private office. He settled in behind his desk, turned on the monitor, entered his security codes, and waited for the link to be established.
The green-eyed, auburn-haired image of Ensign Possible appeared, much to Picard's surprise. This had better be good, he thought. "Captain, Ron discovered the identity of the perpetrator and what she was up to on Ras T'kar. Her name is Shego and …" Kim went on to describe the woman. Picard was intrigued by the plasma bolts, but didn't feel this warranted an encrypted security transmission.
"Sir," Kim continued, "Shego has gained access to a verteron array trigger. We don't know what she intends to do with it, but given …"
Picard swore to himself as he listened to the young officer. He knew what the worst-case scenario was.
"Very good, Ensign. Thank you for the update. I look forward to a full report from you and Mr. Stoppable upon your return. Picard out."
The captain looked at the now darkened screen, then spoke to the unit. "Get me Admiral Nechayev …"
VII.
Kim put the shuttle on auto-pilot then looked over at her companion. "I'm very proud of you, Ron. You know, you really are quite brave and resourceful," Kim cooed.
"What are you talking about, KP? The only brave one here is you. You were badical, flying the shuttle and beating Shego," he replied, faking punches and mimicking flying patterns with his hands.
Kim looked into Ron's eyes and smiled. "Ron, listen to me, okay? You're a civilian with no training. Yet you volunteered to go on an important mission to get information Starfleet needed for an investigation, not worrying about whether you'd get hurt. And when I needed you to keep cool a little while ago, you did. That's pretty brave to me."
"You really think so?" he asked, still sounding dubious.
"Yes, I do. Now stop doubting me. That's an order," she said, wearing a seductive smile.
"Yes, ma'am," he replied, his goofy grin reappearing.
Kim got up from her seat and sat down on Ron's lap. "If memory serves, this worked pretty well for us on the flight out from Enterprise. I think we should try it again. And that's an order, too!" She then leaned in and brushed her lips against his.
Ron murmured, "Whatever you say, ma'am."
VIII.
Picard could feel the coolness across the wastes of interstellar space. He and Alynna Nechayev had a tense relationship; the woman had not fully trusted him since his assimilation by the Borg. He hated himself for partially sympathizing with her caution. Still, he knew he was one of the best captains in the fleet, otherwise he would not be in command of the Federation flagship. He was now trying not to bristle.
"Admiral, I really do not think that is necessary," Picard protested.
"Captain, I know you have great confidence in your officers. But she is just an ensign, one year out of the Academy. I believe she will benefit from some guidance from a more experienced investigator," Nechayev countered.
"Admiral, with all due respect, none of those supposedly more experienced investigators were able to learn what Ensign Possible has."
"True, Captain. And she is to be commended for her initiative," Nechayev acknowledged. "However, the potential threat to the security of the Federation, however remote, is too great. I have made my decision."
"Understood, Admiral. Picard out."
IX.
"Mmmm. Ron, you are an incredible kisser," Kim purred.
"You're not bad yourself, KP," Ron replied.
"I just can't believe I missed out on this all these years."
"Yeah, well, I suspect I've gotten better with age, so you probably made the right decision in not being interested until now."
"Oh?" she asked, arching her eyebrow. "And do I want to know how you got better with age?"
"Eep."
Kim laughed. "Don't worry, Ron. It's so not the drama. But I do hope we can make up for lost time …" she said playfully before leaning in to give him another kiss. They went on that way for a few minutes before the computer disturbed them.
"Warning: Malfunction in starboard nacelle plasma controller."
Kim broke off the kiss and returned to her console. She swore under her breath.
"What's going on, KP?"
"We've got a problem, Ron. I think our T'klarian friends did more damage then we realized. We're going to have to find a place to land."
X.
"Mr. Data?" Captain Picard asked.
"The fourth moon of the third planet is an M-class body and appears to be uninhabited. Ensign Possible and Ron should be able to land there."
"Very well, Mr. Data," Picard said. The captain then turned his gaze back to the view-screen and the image of the young security officer and her friend. "Congratulations, Ensign. It appears that you and Mr. Stoppable will be the first Federation citizens to set foot on this new world. We will rendezvous with you in eight and a half hours."
"Eight hours thirty-seven minutes, traveling at warp six point five …"
"Thank you, Mr. Data," the captain said, cutting off his second officer. "Good luck, Ensign."
"Thank you, sir," Kim replied.
"And Ensign?"
"Yes, sir?"
"Good work. Both of you."
Kim smiled and Ron beamed with pride. "Thank you, sir. See you in the morning. Possible out."
"Enterprise out," Picard replied, watching the starscape return to the screen.
XI.
"So, if we're the first ones there, do we get to name the place?" Ron asked as Kim piloted the stricken shuttle towards the moon.
"Probably not. I'm sure Starfleet has some directorate filled with people whose job is to name newly discovered planets and things," Kim said.
Ron slumped and frowned.
"What?" Kim asked.
"Nothing," Ron answered sheepishly.
Kim wasted no time turning the puppy dog pout on him.
"Aw, man, not the pout!" Ron whined. "Well, don't laugh, but if I got to name it, well, I'd name it after you …"
"Ron, that's so ferociously sweet," Kim purred. "You are just so … romantic. I never would have guessed it."
"That's because you were too busy with all the other hotties."
"Well …" she said, sounding apologetic.
"Not to mention I was so goofy that neither you nor any other woman ever could have guessed it!" he added before making a silly face, much to Kim's amusement.
"Well, I can't argue with you there, Romeo!" she responded brightly. "Look!" she exclaimed. Dead ahead of them was the moon. They could see the planetoid's features: oceans, clouds, a few small continents. "Ron, it's beautiful," Kim said, a note of wonder in her voice. This was why she was out here.
"Yeah, just like you," Ron said.
Kim looked at him and rolled her eyes. "Okay, now you're laying it on a bit thick, Rondo."
Ron shrugged. "You want me to stop?"
"Nuh uh," she said. "In fact, Rule One on Kimworld …"
Ron looked surprised.
"… well you said you'd name it after me," she noted haughtily, prompting a smile in response. "… Is that the BF never stops telling his GF how he feels about her."
"Aauugh! We're going to the Planet of the Feelings!" Ron moaned in mock horror. "Help me!"
"Oh, I'll help you all right," Kim said with a leer.
XII.
Kim landed the shuttle and performed an environmental check. They couldn't have done better in choosing a place to seek refuge. The air was perfect, the gravity was similar to Earth standard, the temperature was a comfortable 65 degrees.
Kim's only complaint was the shuttle. It was now slowly bleeding radiation; they would have to abandon the craft. She and Ron removed the essential equipment: the first aid kit, blankets, flares, tricorders, the force field barrier stanchions, phasers, rations, the picnic basket Ron had brought along, and his bat'leth.
"This will be just like our camping trips on Mars back in the old days!"
"Do you hide from the ghosts now or later?" Kim asked, a devilish gleam in her eye.
"You laugh, Kim," Ron replied. "But everybody knows that ancient Martian spirits haunt the mountains."
Kim rolled her eyes.
"Besides, I'd like to be scared," Ron said, much to her surprise. "Then I can hold onto you!"
Kim laughed. "I think you can do that without the fear factor, Ron. But let's get camp set up first and maybe have some dinner."
"Sounds like a plan, KP."
They first established a perimeter using the stanchions. The force field would keep out any unwanted nocturnal intruders. They then gathered some rocks that could be heated with phaser fire, then laid out their blankets. Ron found some food for the two of them.
"Well, lookee here! Hot dogs. And marshmallows!"
"Spankin'!" Kim said.
"I still can't believe you eat them together," Ron gibed a little later as Kim enjoyed her dinner.
"You, Ron Stoppable, long ago forfeited any right to comment on any other sentient being's eating habits."
"You are so harsh, KP."
Kim snorted. "So not, Mister Let's-stuff-an-entire-pizza-into-my-face!"
"Hey, I was a growing boy. And the Rondo was a busy man, always on the go."
Kim pulled a face. "Try again, Rondo."
He responded with a belch, and she began laughing.
"So tell me about your new toy," Kim demanded, pointing to the bat'leth. "With some polish, I bet it will look spankin'," she said.
Ron told her about the shop, the Tellarite, and the Klingon.
"That is so whack, Ron. Or should I just start calling you Chosen One?"
"Hey, you gotta admit, Kim, it is a cool story," Ron said. "I can't wait to tell Worf!"
After they ate, they lay down beside one another and took in the night sky, which was clear and filled with stars. Kim began to snuggle with Ron.
"Feeling friendly, KP?" Ron asked hopefully.
"I might be," she said with a sly smile. "Though I have to admit I'm feeling a bit of a chill."
"Really? Huh," Ron said; he was very comfortable. "You want me to warm up the rocks again?"
"Please and thank you," Kim said, hugging herself.
Ron got up, took the phaser and pressed the trigger; a beam of light lanced out and struck the small cairn, which began glowing red. "There ya go, KP."
"Thanks, Ron. Sit by me?" she asked.
He sat by her and put his arm around her. A few minutes later, Kim's teeth began to chatter.
"KP, what's wrong?"
"I don't know Ron, but it's so cold," she said, shivering.
Ron didn't like this. He still thought the temperature was quiet pleasant.
"Ron, could you get the first aid kit?" Kim asked. She took the bag from him, opened it, and found the medical tricorder, which she ran over herself. She shook her head. "It says I'm okay … I must just have picked up a bug. Give me that blanket, please and thank you."
Pretty soon, Kim was huddled next to the fire, wrapped in all of the blankets. Ron watched nervously as Kim shivered even more.
"Hold me closer, Ron," she said, her teeth chattering. "So cold …"
It had been no more than two hours since Kim had experienced her first symptoms; she was now deathly white and sweating profusely. Ron had tried to raise Enterprise a number of times without success. Finally, he got through.
"Captain, it's Ron. Kim's sick."
"We'll be there in about six hours, Ron."
"Captain, I don't think I'm making myself clear," he said, fear rising in his voice. "She's really sick. And the tricorder thingie doesn't know what she's got. You gotta get here. As soon as you can. I, I'm really worried about her …"
"Understood, Ron," Picard replied.
"Mr. Data, traveling at maximum warp, how fast can we arrive at their position?"
"We would be able to arrive in approximately two hours and thirty-five minutes," the second officer replied.
"Thank you," Picard said to him. Then the captain directed his attention to the screen. "You heard Mr. Data, Ron. We'll be there as soon as possible."
"Thanks, Captain."
"Ron, you need to be strong now. Kim needs you to stay focused, so you can take care of her."
"I will, sir," Ron answered with determination, as he collected himself. "Stoppable out."
Ron looked down at Kim, wondering what he could do for her. He'd already drained one of the phasers into the rock.
"Ron, why aren't you freezing?" she said. "You're not wearing a jacket! You're going to get sick! You know how your mother doesn't like you running around without a coat in the winter! You are going to be so busted!"
Ron could tell that Kim wasn't fully lucid. He sat by her and wiped her brow. "Heh heh, you know me, KP. Tough guy. Gotta prove to you how macho I am."
"Macho Ron," Kim giggled. "I like that."
Ron held Kim close and closed his eyes. They sat that way for a few moments. Then the baying and howling began. Ron wasn't going to need imaginary ghosts to keep him up that night.
XIII.
Enterprise entered the star system.
"Status report, Mr. Data."
"We will arrive at the moon in approximately twenty-seven minutes." Data scanned his operations console. "Sir, I am detecting extremely high levels of ionization in the atmosphere. We will be unable to beam out Ensign Possible and Ron. Also, I am detecting multiple life forms in their immediate vicinity; they appear to be converging on their location."
"Merde," Picard muttered before turning to his First Officer. "Take a shuttle, Number One."
Riker slapped his comm badge as he got. "Dr. Crusher, meet me in the Shuttle Bay. We have a medical emergency on the surface."
"I'm on my way, Commander," she replied.
"Mr. Worf, you're with me," Riker added as he approached the turbolift.
Within four minutes Will Riker was piloting the shuttle towards the planet, anxious to arrive and extract Kim and Ron. He had a very bad feeling about the situation.
XIV.
Ron was grateful for the force field as he watched the predators circle the camp site. They were larger than Earth wolves, with menacing paws, ugly snouts and fearsome yellow eyes. Yellow eyes which were looking at Ron and Kim as if they were dinner. He held the phaser at the ready, prepared to fire if somehow one of the creatures broke through. He was becoming increasingly nervous as the creatures tested the defenses, willingly absorbing the shock as they flung themselves at the barrier. Ron's only consolation at the moment was that Kim seemed to be unconscious and thus unaware of their predicament.
The circling and probing went on for what seemed hours. Finally, a group of the creatures launched themselves at one of the stanchions. Their howls tore through the night sky as they were flung back; some of their fellow pack mates followed suit. Ron did not like the way the barrier flickered. The animals repeated the assault two more times. On their fourth attempt, the force field winked out.
Ron swore. And then he began firing the phaser.
He watched the creatures fall. Their numbers were significantly reduced, but still they came. Ron had already figured out that the animals were smart enough to learn and adjust their behavior. He didn't know how many there were lurking in the woods. He wished Enterprise would arrive. And soon.
As Ron fired to take out one of the creatures another one launched itself at him; he barely saw it in time. He pulled back and fell back on Kim, but the phaser was knocked from his hand.
Ron was sweating profusely, filled with fear, unsure of what to do. He and Kim were going to die if he couldn't get to the phaser. But if he went to the weapon, Kim would lie exposed to the predators. He wished he could will the phaser to him. He knew he couldn't; the most he could do was buy Kim a few extra moments, perhaps enough time for Enterprise to arrive. There was no question in Ron's mind that he would sacrifice himself for her if he needed to.
Ron saw the bat'leth, lying a few meters from him and wished he had it in his hands. Then, much to his complete surprise, the weapon flew from the ground and into his grip. He didn't have time to be shocked, though, as the snarling creatures began to advance on them.
He'd barely had any training with the blade, but what instruction he did have was better than nothing. He dropped into the defensive crouch Worf had taught him.
"You want Kim, you gotta come through me!" Ron yelled defiantly.
One of the creatures pounced at Ron; he swung the blade and slashed the animal, which shrieked in pain. Ron had drawn first blood. Another came at him, and he made violent contact with it, too. This went on for some minutes and Ron began to feel more confident in his use of the bat'leth. But he was also beginning to tire; adrenaline could only carry him so far.
Ron looked around. Much to his surprise there were only two of the creatures left. Unfortunately for him, these had learned from watching their fellow pack members.
The two animals lunged at Ron. One of them knocked him down, clawing at his leg. Ron, screaming in pain, fell back onto Kim to shield her. He managed to swing the blade and strike the side of the beast, which fell to the side. Just as that happened, the other one pounced.
Ron thrust the blade upwards, towards the creature's underbelly.
Simultaneously, the giant clawed paw came down towards Ron's face.
And then Ron Stoppable howled as he experienced a pain he never even imagined was possible.
TBC …