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Switched

Chapter 42

Singing on the top of his voice, the Doctor emerged from the rear of the Delta Flyer with two glasses of frothy brown milkshake in his hands.

"Could you keep the volume down, Doctor?" Kathryn asked from the helm. "I'm trying to fix a targeting problem and need to concentrate."

"Then what you need is a docoshake," he replied. "Highly nutritious and guaranteed to boost brain power." He placed a glass before her and another before Vic. "It's my own special creation, hence the name, and far better than any nutrishake out there today, even if I say so myself."

"I asked you to bring us a coffee," Kathryn reminded him.

"And I told you that the next time you asked I'd get you a nutrishake. I'm always true to my word, Captain, as I'd hate to be called a liar. And as I made it coffee flavored, just for you, I won't listen to excuses or objections. So drink up, Captain. You too, Detective. Doctor's orders."

Vic took up his glass. "I won't say no," he said. "Anything with coffee in it works for me."

At those words, Kathryn picked up her own glass and raised it into the air. "I'll drink to that."

The Doctor watched them drink in triumph and then eagerly awaited their verdict. When no praise came his way, he prompted. "Well? Good or is it good?"

"Excellent, Doctor," Kathryn said absently. "Now, if you don't mind, I must get back to work."

The Doctor sat at the helm, began to tap his fingers in boredom on the console, and then began to sing again. As soon as he did, Kathryn looked up at him with a glare. "When I said turn down the volume," she said, "I meant zip-it."

The Doctor sighed. "As you wish, Captain. But what else is a hologram supposed to do around here? You said we'd be in transporter range in an hour, it's been two, and we're still no closer to getting the shield's frequency."

"Wrong. We're closer than we were two hours ago. And if you'd been here, instead of gallivanting out the back, you'd have heard me tell the Detective that we got within transporter range twenty minutes ago. All we're waiting on now is the shield's frequency."

"And how much longer will it take to get it?"

"As long as it takes," Kathryn replied. "It's a stubborn one."

"We're getting pretty close to Taron's fleet," Vic said, observing their position on a monitor. "I think we should cloak. I'm not happy about us getting any closer naked."

"Agreed," Kathryn answered. "In fact, I was just about to bring the cloak online." She moved her fingers over the console, preparing to activate the cloak, when a bleep sounded. "Damn," she said.

"What is it?" the Doctor asked.

"We don't have enough power to run a continuous cloak. I could minimize power output and drop us to warp 1, but as Taron's fleet has speeded up to warp 3 we'd fall out of transporter range very quickly. As exposed as we are, we'll have to continue naked for the moment."

"Then let's hope, Detective, your comrades arrive soon with back cover," the Doctor said. "Any sign of them, Captain?"

"Yes," Kathryn replied, "they're about an hour away. We could cloak and wait for them to catch up with us, but we could fall so behind Taron that we'd lose him, especially if he changes cloaking frequency. And as losing Taron would mean losing Cayla, I'm not going to let that happen. We'll keep on his tail, even if that means flying through torpedo fire."

Another bleep blared and a light flashed. "What now?" the Doctor asked.

"A vessel," Kathryn told him. "It's just been launched from Taron's ship. It's heading our way."

Vic's eyes widened in fear. "Do you think they've spotted us?"

"Possibly," Kathryn replied. "Or possibly someone is just going somewhere. Hmmm."

The Doctor got to his feet. "What's hmmm?"

"The vessel is uncloaked, unshielded, and has a Federation signature."

"How many onboard?" Vic asked.

"Just one," Kathryn said, scanning for lifesigns. "A female."

"Is it Cayla?" the Doctor asked.

"No," Kathryn replied. "But she is human. I'm trying to..." Her words stopped and her whole being froze as the identity of the female was revealed. "I don't believe it," she said. "It's Lacey."

"Lacey Brenton?" the Doctor asked in surprise.

"How many other Lacey's do you know, Doctor?" Kathryn replied.

"But how would Taron have Lacey?" the Doctor questioned. "She's in space with her husband."

"Maybe she left her ship to come home early and was captured enroute," Kathryn speculated. "Her vital signs are strong but she isn't moving. Neither is she piloting the shuttle, it's on auto-pilot, destination Earth."

"We have to get her out of there," Vic cried, tears in his eyes. "She's been tortured, I know she has. Taron likes nothing more than to torture someone by torturing someone they love!"

"I'll take our defenses offline momentarily and beam her on board," Kathryn said. "Doctor, stand by. Lacey might need urgent medical attention."

The Doctor picked up a medical kit and went over to the transporter zone.

"Transporting in five," Kathryn said. "Five, four, three, two...."

The Doctor waited anxiously for Lacey to materialize before him, expecting her to appear with the blue light of a transporter beam, but the familiar beam never came. Instead, red lights flashed behind him and a whirring sound filled the cabin. The Doctor span around and did so just in time to see Kathryn and Vic disappear with the red beam of a long-range transporter. For a long moment the Doctor stared in horror at their empty seats, then he rushed over to the helm and tried desperately to counter the transport. But he was too late. There was nothing he could do. Kathryn and Vic were gone. And that could only mean one terrible thing: they had been taken by Taron.

END OF CHAPTER 42