"Ship Personification's Log, Stardate 46682.4. The Enterprise is docked at the Remmler Array, where a routine procedure called a Baryon Sweep will be conducted. In preparation for the sweep, Captain Picard is evacuating the ship while I prepare to remain aboard in semi-stasis."
Dorothy stood on the bridge, watching the slow but steady progress of the crew beaming off to the station. A part of her was grateful not to have to attend Commander Hutchinson's welcome ceremony. The man was a master at small talk but there was such a thing as too much irrelevance in conversation.
She turned to see Picard and Data returning to the bridge. "I thought you had already disembarked sir." She said.
"Not yet, there are still a few groups that need to beam off before I can initiate the shutdown procedure. I suggest you return to your quarters, Lieutenant." He replied.
Dorothy closed down the file she was researching (pulsars really were fascinating objects). "Aye sir." She replied.
"Lieutenant." Data called her back and she turned to face him. "If I may," the Android began. "I am curious as to the nature of your choosing to remain aboard. While technically you remain alive as long as your primary physical body is intact, the effect of the Baryon Sweep will in all likelihood render you semi-dead at least for a minute or two before we can beam aboard and reactivate your systems. I am wondering why you choose to remain aboard when you could accompany us to the station."
Dorothy cleared her throat, glancing once at Picard before ducking her head slightly and clasping her hands behind her back. "A personal preference is all, Commander." She replied before giving Picard one last nod of farewell and departing off the bridge.
She made her way down the familiar hallways until she reached her quarters. The shutdown of all primary systems left her feeling, not tired but empty, incomplete per say. It was an odd sensation, one which she supposed, if she was lucky enough, she would experience regularly if she made it to the fleet museum. She lay down on her bed and closed her eyes.
And promptly opened them just three hours later. Something was seriously wrong. She should not be waking up yet. Not until her crew returned and according to Picard that wouldn't occur for another 20 hours. What was going on? Dorothy swung her legs off her bed, still a little shaky but determination over rid any weakness she might have felt. Dressing took only a minute or two and taking one brief moment to straighten her top in the mirror, a habit she had picked up from Picard interestingly enough, she exited her quarters, the phaser on her right hip. It was time to figure out what was going on here and quickly. She could sense the Baryon Sweep was near.
As a being in two bodies, Dorothy Brahms was uniquely suited to sneaking around. TheEnterprise Dwas her other form, her true form and she knew it just as well as she knew the veins and neurons in her human body. When her entire crew was aboard it was difficult to distinguish one individual from another. Not empathic like Betazeds, it was more of a sense of presence like that a human gets when the wind whistles their hair, or an ant crawls up their leg. With nearly everyone gone, Dorothy could distinguish better, but her ability was not full proof. Nonetheless, it was all she had to go one. She began making her way to engineering.
Voices in the hall made her pause and she ducked into a side. She recognized one of them as Picard's but the others...
"Alright, alright, just shut up! SHUT UP!" That was a female voice and she didn't sound happy. The same voice continued. "Any sign of Devour?"
"No." Replied another female. Dorothy risked a look around a corner, seeing a group gathered around the warp core. Two had their backs to her. One was undoubtably Picard. She'd recognize her captain's bald head anywhere. The second was a woman with short curly red hair. And the third, facing her had an exaggerated bridge to her nose not unlike a Bajorian. Her hair was dark and done up in a tight braid.
"Satler," the dark-haired woman commanded. "Get down here and uh, keep an eye on our barber. Alright, go see if you can find Devour."
"Sit down!" Satler commanded.
"Alright," Picard said, complying instantly.
"Just do what I tell you and you won't have to worry." Satler snarled, still pointing his phaser at Picard's chest. It was a laser design Dorothy noted which was unaffected by the subspace fields surrounding the ship.
Dorothy pulled out her own phaser, even though she was pretty sure it was useless. She adjusted it to its maximum setting just to be certain. She leaned against the edge of the hallway, watching and waiting for the right moment. And all the while her anger continued to build. These thieves were pointing a phaser ather captainand that would not go unpunished!
They were developing some kind of portable holding tank and she knew Picard was also paying close attention to their conversation.
"How long until the Baryon Sweep hits us?" The dark-haired one, Kelsey, asked.
"About 15 minutes but the field inverter will protect us." Satler replied.
Field inverter? Dorothy looked closer and there! Just to the right of them. If she knocked that out, then they would have no choice but to abandon whatever it was they were attempting to do and leave. Clearly Picard had the same thought for, unnoticed by the thieves, he subtly pulled out the laser weapon he'd taken off of Devour.
"I want the Trilithum resin in there and secured before the Baryon Sweep gets here." Kelsey snapped.
Trilithium? Oh, now they definitely needed to be stopped. The substance was a dangerously unstable byproduct of warp travel and was often used as a key ingredient of unsanctioned weapons.
Satler looked away which was the opening Picard and Dorothy were looking for. Nearly simultaneously, both had drawn their weapons and fired. Dorothy's, despite its high setting, was useless. But Picard's functioned perfectly and in one shot he destroyed the one thing protecting Kelsey and her band of thieves from the effects of the Baryon Sweep. Satler made to attack but that was when Dorothy went on the offensive, shoving him harshly to the side.
Picard was surprised to see her but not shocked although neither had time to say anything as they climbed out of harm's way and into a Jefferies tube. They could hear Kelsey screaming orders for Satire to follow them. Picard was in front and Dorothy followed him silent, but resolute in her determination to protect her captain. She noted that they were crawling aft. "In 600 feet there will be a hatch allowing access to a lower deck." She said.
"Thank you, Dorothy." Picard replied in his ever so typical blandish tone but Dorothy knew he had a plan. She stifled her grin.
Not a moment too soon as the green wave of the Baryon Sweep appeared in the corridor. Picard immediately sprang into action and she shifted off to the side, unlocking the mechanisms as Picard pulled the hatch cover free. "You first, Lieutenant." He ordered.
Dorothy knew better than to argue at this time and jumped down. Picard followed, being careful to replace the hatch once he had done so. The two quickly made their way down the narrow hallway and into a main corridor heading forward. A scream was heard, and Satler met his fate with the beam.
Dorothy's wince did not go unnoticed. "Did you feel his death?" Picard asked. He wouldn't be bothered if that was the case, simply curious.
"No." She replied. "But I am aware of all lifeforms aboard me. Which leads me to my question: just what the hell were you thinking coming back here? I thought you'd beamed off with the rest of the crew?"
"I did but then I remembered I needed to get my saddle." Picard replied.
"Your saddle." Dorothy repeated, skeptical even though she was well aware her captain kept such a thing in his personal quarters.
"Every good rider has his own saddle." Picard replied, somewhat defensive.
She huffed. "And it just so happened that it served the perfect excuse to evade Commander Hutchinson's 'charm'. How lovely." She snorted.
"I am not evading and since you are so keen to inquire as to my personal preferences perhaps I should ask a question of my own." Picard snapped.
"By all means." Dorothy sniffed.
"Why are you awake?" He asked.
"That is a very good question captain. I woke presumably the instant you were trapped aboard. Following that, I knew something wasn't right so I made an effort to track down the source of my unease. Which led me to your delightful interaction in engineering." She replied.
"Well, it's a good thing you woke when you did, Lieutenant." He sighed.
"I was going to say that it was equally a good thing that you stayed aboard, sir." She said.
They continued on in silence for a few moments. "So, what's the plan captain?" She asked.
Picard considered for a moment, then turned sharply down another corridor to the right. Dorothy, with her innate knowledge of her other body, knew precisely where they were headed. "Worf's quarters." She noted. "I get dibs on the Bat'leth!"
"I am partial to the bow and arrow myself." Picard said with a slight smirk before he refocused. The doors opened courtesy of the device he had with him that allowed him to disengage the locks and push the door open manually. As he did so, the communication device he had confiscated from Devour chirped.
"Kelsey here. We have a Starfleet officer aboard who killed Devour and deactivated our field inhibiter in engineering so we have to leave her before the Baryon Sweep enters this section. We're taking the Trilithium resin with us to Ten Forward."
"It's nice to be recognized isn't it?" Dorothy quipped.
Knowing she was simply teasing, Picard leveled an unimpressed glare at her. "Shut up." He said and she grinned, picking up the Bat'leth with ease.
Picard, as he gathered the bow and arrows, pulled out the communicator from his pocket. "Kelsey, don't be a fool. You know better than to try and move Trilithium resin."
For her part, Kelsey responded instantly. "Mr. Mott or should I call you 'Lieutenant'? 'Lieutenant Commander' perhaps?" Her mockery was audible, and Dorothy narrowed her eyes. Picard shook his head and Dorothy reigned in her temper although as it was, she hissed softly.
"You can call me whatever you wish." Picard replied, unaffected by her mocking. "But moving Trilithium resin requires very specific equipment. You can't just improvise something."
"I wouldn't need to improvise if you hadn't damaged our field diverter." Kelsey said in a calm tone. Her relaxed tone reminded Dorothy much of Picard himself when he was in command. She couldn't decide if that was impressive or annoying. "But if you're so concerned about the Trilithium I suggest you stop interfering with us before you set of an explosion that would destroy the Enterprise."
With a glance at Dorothy, Picard replied "I would rather destroy the ship than allow that resin to fall into the hands of terrorists like you."
Kelsey continued on for several minutes with Picard countering her before the pair signed off with the unspoken promise that they would see each other in combat again. "Let's get out of here." Picard said and Dorothy nodded, following him out of Worf's quarters.
It was not until they'd made it almost completely down the corridor to another cabin that the captain paused and faced his ship. "Lieutenant, was I right to-"
"Save it captain." Dorothy said, well aware of what he was going to say. His morality was strong as was his sense of duty and rarely did the two intervene. "You are right. Starfleet is my home, my family and I refuse to fly under any other flag."
"I made that decision for you. When you have the right just as much as anyone, to choose your own destiny." Picard replied.
"If you want my choice, captain then it is this; I choose Starfleet and you. I will serve by your side and die by your side if necessary. The same risk for you applies to me as well. I accept that." Dorothy said.
"Thank you, Lieutenant." He rasped.
"Thank me later. We have work to do." She snapped.
...
Dorothy watched as Picard dipped the tip of the arrow in the vile. "Dart frog poison, impressive." She said.
"It was incredibly deadly on Earth centuries ago. A single wound would ensure a slow and painful demise." He replied, turning around and pulling out several other viles of some kind of powder. "Mix these together." He told her as his communicator chirped.
She did as she was told, trying to keep herself from tensing as Kelsey's voice was heard clearly through it. "That wasn't very clever Mr. Mott. If you knew where we were you should've attacked us. Now we'll just take another route, one you might not be able to predict. That Sweep is just as much a threat to you as it is to us." Kelsey said. "In fact, if I were you Mr. Mott I'd be trying to find another way off this ship."
Picard took the tip of his prod to one of the mixtures and it produced a larger flame at its touch. It was then that Dorothy understood and she and her captain exchanged mischievous grins like naughty schoolchildren about to commit all sorts of chaos.
Dorothy followed Picard to an area shaded in darkness but close enough to the main corridor to see all activity occurring on this deck. Sure enough, one of the thieves a large alien male, revealed himself only to find himself the victim of Picard's impressively accurate aim. The arrow struck him in the left thigh, and he groaned in pain as the poison began to take effect. He fell to the floor with one last groan before going limp. Picard lowered his bow and walked over to check on him only to be caught by the red-haired female, Kiros. Dorothy moved to intervene but Kiros quickly pointed the phaser at her as well, grabbing Picard for good measure before redirecting the weapon at Picard.
"One wrong move and I vaporize him." She said, pressing the muzzle of the weapon at his head.
Dorothy tensed but nodded, getting the message. She met Picard's gaze which said clearly not to escalate things. She obeyed wordlessly. After six years, she'd learned to trust Jean-Luc Picard's judgement implicitly. He had a plan, she just needed to see it through. While a direct hit from one of those weapons wouldn't kill her, it would incapacitate her long enough to be unable to come to her captain's aid when he needed it.
They were marched to Ten Forward where Kelsey was waiting. "Well, not as clever as you thought." She said, pointing her phaser at Picard's chest.
Dorothy instinctively moved to stand at her captain's side. "At least Lieutenant." Picard ordered but his command only kept Dorothy from striking Kelsey. She remained next to him, ready to attack should Kelsey make one wrong move.
"Ah, Lt. Commander Dorothy Brahms. I was wondering if you would be aboard." The terrorist woman said.
"What do you want with me?" Dorothy asked, straightening her spine.
"Nothing that I haven't already taken. Actually, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you. It's rare that we have the opportunity to collect Trilithium so fresh." Kelsey's words, her tone, rubbed Dorothy all the wrong way. Set off her instincts, the ones ingrained in every starship to protect her crew, her captain. She would've strangled the terrorist then and there if not for Picard's gentle but firm order. "At ease, Lieutenant."
Kelsey turned to the man she knew as 'Mr. Mott'. "Interesting, you can order her to stand down. You are certainly full of surprises Mr. Mott." She said.
Picard stiffened and Dorothy knew what he was about to do. "Don't sir." She asked.
Picard ignored her. "My name isn't Mott. It's Jean Luc-Picard."
As expected, Kelsey paused at the revelation but then she smiled. "Captain Picard. This is all beginning to make sense."
"Leave the Trilithium here and take me with you." Picard said. "You can use me as a hostage instead of threatening-"
"No sir! Don't!" Dorothy cried, getting a fresh weapon pointed at her face for her words.
"At ease Lieutenant!" Picard ordered again and very reluctantly, resisting her instincts, Dorothy stood down. She recognized that her captain had a plan although for a time of the untold number she wished he wasn't so self-sacrificing about it.
"I am not a terrorist, captain. I have no political agenda, although I know some people who do have agendas and they are very interested in this little container." Kelsey said, keeping her own weapon pointed directly at him while Kiros kept hers on Dorothy's head, an arm wrapped around her chest for good measure. It was a futile gesture as the kanmusu could easily push Kiros off her but she risked a lethal blast to her captain in doing so and as a result, she obeyed the unspoken orders of her captors.
"Profit." Picard realized as Dorothy hissed slowly through her teeth. Mercenaries weren't a whole lot better than terrorists in her eyes, especially when they stole such volatile compounds from her warp core!
"I prefer to think of it as commerce." Kelsey replied to Picard's accusation with a wry smile, as though she had heard that argument a hundred times before. For all Dorothy knew, she had. She gestured with her weapon for Picard to move and he got the message, using his device to pry the Ten Forward main doors open. As he did so, he caught Dorothy's eyes and she immediately understood his plan. He's laid a trap in Ten Foward and was deliberately putting himself and the others right into it.
Dorothy watched his every move without being too obvious about it. She stepped where he stepped and was not surprised when Kiros' foot impacted a band of gunpowder. It went off in her face, throwing her to the ground. With the odds more in their favor, Dorothy made sure Kiros was of no further consequence while Picard dove behind the bar for cover, matching Kelsey's fire. The Trilithium container was dropped in the mele and Picard went for it, picking it up. Kelsey countered with a terrific punch to the face that sent him reeling. Dorothy risked moving to help him up, tending to his wounds.
"Are you alright sir?" She asked.
"I will be. Can you get that container?" He asked back.
"We have bigger problems sir." She said as the Baryon Sweep, the thing they had evaded for hours, finally entered Ten Forward. Immediately, the tenor of the fight changed. Kelsey collected the Trilithium and beamed away. Dorothy was helped to her feet by Picard but instantly pushed him behind the large supports right at the front of the ship, staying between him and the Baryon Sweep.
"Lieutenant, what are you doing?!" He asked.
"Protecting you sir!" Dorothy replied. "The Baryon particle beam cannot kill me as long as the Enterprise D remains intact. You, on the other hand, do not have another body to spare."
"You don't know what the Sweep will do to you, Dorothy." Picard pulled out his standard issue comms badge. "Picard Arkaria Base, deactivate the Baryon Sweep." There was no reply.
Dorothy moved directly in front of her captain now, trusting in her own body to act as a shield for him. Picard continued his frantic calls as the two climbed further and further forward, hiding among the large tritanium beams that made up this part of Ten Forward. Dorothy screamed as the Baryon Sweep made contact with her, falling forward. Not even a second later, the beam was deactivated by Data who had regained control of the station.
Picard's relief was tempered by the sight of his ship's personification lying prone on the floor. "Medical Team to Ten Forward." He ordered and threw the comm badge aside. He made it to Dorothy's side. She was completely still, her skin so pale. For all intense and purposes, she was dead. Yet she wasn't. Picard knew this. He could not possibly comprehend the complexities of ship spirits but he knew enough to know that as long as the Enterprise D existed, so would Dorothy. She would just need a little time to come around.
Sure enough, after a minute, she groaned and opened her eyes. "Captain." She greeted.
"Lieutenant." He sighed, with no small amount of relief.
"Kelsey, the Trilithium!" Dorothy exclaimed, trying to rise.
Picard held her fast. "I don't think she will be getting very far." He replied, holding up the stabilization devise. Sure enough, both watched as the Trilithium exploded, taking Kelsey's ship and her with it. An ironic and deserving end if ever there was one.
Dorothy breathed a sigh of relief and Picard refocused on her. "How do you feel?" He asked.
"Well, it's not something I would desire to feel again if I have the choice." She replied. "Death as you know it, remains beyond my reach however the temporary experience is," she searched for the right word. "Intriguing." She settled on quoting Commander Data, hoping that would convey what she felt. Picard nodded, understanding her message.
His communicator chirped. "Data to Captain Picard. Do you read me sir?"
"Picard here." He replied with no small amount of relief.
"Are you alright Captain?" Data asked.
"Yes Mr. Data although I would request a medical team look after Lieutenant Brahms." Picard replied, ignoring Dorothy's glare.
"Understood sir." Data replied with his typical thoroughness.
Picard helped Dorothy sit up, the kanmusu grunting in slight pain as he did so. "I owe you one sir. She rasped.
"Add it to my growing tab, Dorothy." Picard replied and she chuckled.
...
3 weeks later
Applause was heard all across the bridge as Dorothy entered for her shift. She rolled her eyes. "You are all like children." She said.
"Oh, come on Commander. It's not every day a starship receives a promotion." Riker said.
Absentmindedly, Dorothy fingered the solid third pippet on her collar significant her as a commander. The promotion was based on Picard's recommendation following the Baryon Sweep incident. She still remembered what he told her not long after.
"I knew you were worthy of a higher rank for a long time Dorothy. I simply needed an excuse to give it to you." He said.
So, Dorothy accepted her applause with the typical half stoicism, half annoyance that one would expect out of her captain. "Number 1, I believe we are due at Starbase 218." She said.
Riker hid his grin as he nodded. "That we are." He replied. "Helm, set course for Starbase 218, Warp 5."
"Course laid in, sir."
"Engage."