The Aliens meet The Next Generation
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Path: moe.ksu.ksu.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu!usenet.ins.cwru.edu!agate!boulder!ucsu!ucsu.Colorado.EDU!lorenzo
From: lorenzo@ucsu.Colorado.EDU (Eric J. Lorenzo)
Subject: STORY: Aliens vs. ST
Message-ID: <1992Jul9.183508.11434@ucsu.Colorado.EDU>
Summary: REPOST
Sender: news@ucsu.Colorado.EDU (USENET News System)
Nntp-Posting-Host: ucsu.colorado.edu
Organization: University of Colorado, Boulder
Date: Thu, 9 Jul 1992 18:35:08 GMT
Lines: 330
This story was posted a couple of months ago, but not by the original author.
Unfortunately it was left unfinished at a crucial part. I'm reposting this
because of a story just posted by Erik Johnson. Maybe someone would like to
try and finish this story.
----
The Aliens meet The Next Generation
by
Chet "Cheesehead" Cuaresma
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Captain's Log: StarDate 43451.2. By traveling through the Xenophobic
star system, an unexplored section of the Federation, our sensors have lo-
cated what appears to be another starship, drifting ever so slowly through
space. We are dropping out of warp to intercept and make possible contact
with the ship.
Picard looked up to see the streaking stars on the viewscreen come to
a halt as he completed his log entry. In the center of the screen was a
ship, growing steadily larger as the Enterprise moved closer to greet the
vessel.
"Open hailing frequencies, Mr. Worf," said Captain Picard, a twinge of
curiosity in his voice.
The tall Klingon silently depressed a key to comply with the Captain's
orders. It was less than a second when his low, baritone voice replied
tersely, "Open."
"Unknown starship, this is Captain Jean-Luc Picard commanding the Fe-
deration starship Enterprise. Our intentions are of a peaceful nature.
Please, respond." Picard just stood there for a few moments, waiting for
a response. When none came, he tried to contact them a second time, again
resulting in silence.
"Data, any life form readings?"
Data looked at his console quickly, then replied to the Captain. "Our
sensors do detect humanoid life form readings from the ship, sir. The ship
appears to be equipped with some sort of fusion drive, which is supplying
only enough power to maintain normal life support conditions and a few other
sub-systems. The ship's design is similar to that of Earth vessels used in
the 21st Century where..."
"Thank you, Mr. Data," said Picard, realizing that Data was about to
go off on another tangent other than the question he had asked. He turned
around to face Troi, who was already concentrating on the ship. "Counselor,
what do you sense over there?"
Troi stared intently at the viewscreen, a look of puzzlement appearing
across her face. "I sense...despair, fear, and...death. Sir, these people
want to die...they embrace it openly...no hope..." Deanna Troi looked as
if she was going to faint. Picard quickly reached over and held her in
place. Troi looked up at him and smiled. "Its okay, sir. I'm fine, now.
Their emotions were so overwhelming..." Troi shook her head.
"Why do they feel this way?" Commander Riker asked, turning in his
chair to face the Counselor.
They know that they are going to die, and they feel that nothing
can change that. I just don't know what..." Troi looked back at the
ship.
Picard followed the Counselor's gaze, returning to face the view-
screen. Beside him, Riker appeared, getting up from his seat to also
stare at the ship. It has a hypnotic quality about it, Riker thought.
Everybody on the bridge just stood there, looking at the object that
was transfixed on the viewscreen. Seconds passed.
"Ensign Crusher," Picard said, quickly cutting through the silence
that was beginning to spread throughout the bridge. "Bring us within
transporter range of the vessel." The young lad simply replied, "Aye",
as Picard turned to face his First Officer. "Number One, I do believe
this incident warrants an investigation."
"Agreed. Permission to assemble an away team?"
"Granted." Picard began to walk over to his seat.
Commander Riker nodded, then started to select his away team members.
"Worf, Data, come with me. Doctor Crusher, your presence is requested for
away team duty."
From out of nowhere came a voice, a voice that was distinctly familiar
to all the bridge crew. "Understood."
The doors to the turbolift closed slowly, concealing the members of
the away team as they were being wisked away to the transporter room. Pi-
card returned to looking at the viewscreen, staring inquisitively at the
vessel as the Enterprise continued to close the gap that was between them.
"Picard to transporter room."
"Transporter room, O'Brien here." Good, our best transporter opera-
tor, Picard thought.
"Prepare to transport the away team over to the ship. And O'Brien?"
"Sir?"
"Beam them out of there at the first sign of trouble."
"Acknowledged." The communication channel closed.
Picard sat back in his chair, his eyes trying to pry loose whatever
secrets the ship was hiding. Why did he get the feeling that Riker and
his away team were walking into a death trap?
Five glimmers of light appeared in a darkened corridor, shedding light
to an otherwise dead ship. As the light grew in intensity, five figures
began to form, slowly evolving as Riker, Data, Worf, Dr. Crusher and her
assistant, Ensign Ripley, began to look around. The corridor was barely
lighted, but lighted enough so that the away team could make out the cor-
ridor's many twists and turns. Riker surveyed the area slowly, taking in
everything he could see, and boy, was it a mess. Metal grating was seen
dangling from various points along the corridor wall, as were pipes and
a variety of other objects. Poor maintenance? Riker quickly threw that
idea out of his head as he ventured forward to survey the rest of the cor-
ridor.
Worf moved ever so slowly, looking intently for any hidden weapons or
surprises that may endanger the away team. Indeed, it looked as if a
battle had waged itself throughout this whole corridor, Worf thought. He
wondered if the rest of the ship was like this, when something caught his
eye. "Commander."
Riker turned from his current position, and walked over to where Lieu-
tenant Worf stood. "What is it, Lieutenant?"
"Take a look at this." Riker knelt down to examine the hole that Worf
was pointing his flashlight through. Besides this hole, there were other
holes, directly below the one he was looking at. Each of these holes seemed
to go through many levels of the ship, Riker thought. He then looked up, and
saw more holes directly above his position. What did this?
"Commander." Beverly was studying her tricorder rather seriously,
as if hoping the thing would give her more information. "Life signs,
in that direction." She pointed opposite of where Lt. Commander Data
stood. Data was looking at what appeared to be some sticky substance
that was on the floor.
"Alright, let's go," said Riker, who was gesturing everyone to walk
towards his direction. "Doctor, you lead the way."
Beverly nodded, as she and the rest of the team adventured forward.
In what seemed an eternity, they traversed endless corridors until they
reached a door which the Doctor's tricorder did indicate was in the
direction of the life signs. As they were going to open the door,
Riker's combadge chirped.
"Riker here," he said, motioning everybody to stop what they were
doing.
"You had us worried, Number One," Picard said. "We were expecting you
to contact us quickly, but I guess this expedition is turning out to be a
real puzzle." Picard's tone of voice was filled with concern.
"You're right about that, sir," Riker replied, slowly surveying the
area around him. "The ship is a real mess, akin to Mr. Worf's descrip-
tion, as if a battle was waged throughout it's interior." Riker looked
at Worf, who was now examining the door. "We are just about to check
out the life signs on the ship."
"Do you require any assistance?" Picard said, who sounded relieved
that nothing had happened to the away team.
"Not yet, sir, but I'll let you know."
"Be careful, Number One. Keep me posted. Picard out."
Riker centered his attention on the door. Data was hovering over
some panel to the side of the door, examining it with his tricorder.
"Will it open the door?" Riker asked Data, who folded up his tri-
corder and turned to face the First Officer.
"It should, sir. I could detect nothing wrong with its circuitry as
I scanned it with my tricorder." Data again looked at the panel.
"Proceed then, Data." Riker stepped back from the door, motioning
Dr. Crusher and Ensign Ripley behind him, while Worf took out his phaser,
and stood just a few feet from the left side of the door. Data depressed
something on the panel. The doors slid open.
What appeared before them was something of a shock. Beyond the door
was another corridor, but one that was very different than the ones they
were traversing before. Along either side of the corridor was a material
that Riker couldn't make out; it looked organic in nature, and standing
from the door and looking ahead, it seemed as if the corridor was alive.
The material seemed to glisten as Worf's flashlight shone itself alongside
the walls of the corridor.
"The life signs are indicated in that direction?" said Ensign Ripley,
a hint of fear in her voice as she pointed her finger in the direction of
the corridor.
"Uh-huh," Beverly said. "That's what the tricorder indicates."
"Okay, everybody, let's go in," Riker said, his stern voice of com-
mand seemingly bringing everybody out of a trance. "I'll take the lead,
followed by Data, the Doctor and the Ensign. Worf, you take the rear."
Riker took out his phaser, and stepped forward into the corridor.
They moved slowly, taking in everything as they walked closer and
closer to the life signs mentioned by the Doctor's tricorder. The corridor
seemed to expand wider as they continued their journey through the ship.
Riker began to wonder whether this was all a dream, when Data got his atten-
tion. Riker stopped moving forward, and turned to face Data, who was
fingering some substance he took from the walls. "What is it, Data?"
"Sir, this is the same substance I found on the floor when we first
arrived on the ship." Data continued to examine the substance, which
looked like a collection of transparent fibers. It was similar to what
Data had seen earlier on the ship.
"A connection?" Riker asked.
"Possibly. But the connection eludes me." Data dropped the sub-
stance to the floor.
Before they could even move, a sound erupted from somewhere ahead.
It sounded unearthly, similar to the shriek of a wounded animal, but as
to what the animal was, that was uncertain. It echoed throughout the
corridor for what was an eternity, then faded into nothingness. A shiver
ran down Riker's spine, as he thought of beaming back to the ship. Star-
fleet training quickly took over, however, and Riker was soon motioning
the rest of the group forward.
The corridor deposited them into a large chamber that was just a
bit wider than the Enterprise's main bridge. The ceiling, however, was
much higher than Federation starship designers would ever allow. Perhaps
the most shocking thing in the chamber were the bodies found decorating
the walls. Some were decaying bodies, with large gaps found in their
chest region. Others appeared to be alive, but in some sort of comatose
state. They appeared to be encased in that same organic substance that
decorated the corridor they had just traveled through. Those same fibers
that Data had picked up before seemed to intertwine with their bodies.
Riker began to wonder what could have caused those gaps.
"Please, help me." It was a soft voice, behind where Dr. Crusher
stood. Immediately, she turned around.
"God in heaven," she said, as she ran toward the wall where a little
boy was hanging from, the transparent fibers seemingly holding him in place.
Data got to the boy before the Doctor did, and began to tear away the organic
substance that covered most of his body. Riker and Worf ran over to assist
Data in his endeavor. As Dr. Crusher ran a diagnostic wand over the boy's
body, he passed out.
"How is he, Doctor?" Riker asked.
"From the looks of things, the boy hasn't had anything to eat in
weeks. He'll be fine, but I'll have to get him back to the Enterprise.
I just don't...WHAT is THAT!?"
Riker turned around. The object that caught the good Doctor's atten-
tion was oval-shaped, and looked just like an egg, except that it had a flat
base.
"Data," he said simply, motioning the android to where he was stand-
ing. "Come take a look at this."
Data moved over to the First Officer's position, and began to ana-
lyze it with his tricorder.
"Well?" Riker was just as curious as the Lt. Commander in de-
termining what the object before them was. "What do you make of it?"
Before Data could even reply, the egg opened up slowly, hiding
something that appeared to be moving around in its interior. Data moved
his head slightly forward to see what is was.
"Careful, Data," Riker cautioned, "we don't know it..."
Something jumped.
It was lightening fast, whatever it was, and all Riker could see
was a blur. He was going to shove Data aside...when he saw that Data
had grabbed the thing in midair before it hit the android in the face.
Great reflexes, Riker thought.
The creature appeared to resemble a spider, which still wasn't an
accurate description of the life form. It's legs were moving about
furiously, as if trying to grab hold of something other than Data's
hands. The tail of the creature was lashing about, trying to wrap
itself around anything for support.
"Most intriguing, Commander," Data said, his child-like curiousity
taking over the features of his face. "Notice the tubular projection
from the base of the creature. I believe it is trying to attach itself
to my face, for reasons I do not know. The creature is remarkable si-
milar..."
"Save it, Data," Riker cut in, in a tone of voice that found the
creature unappealing. He pointed over to a corner of the chamber.
"Throw it in that corner over there, and I'll stun it."
Data complied, throwing the creature in the corner that Riker men-
tioned. As it hit the ground, RIker fired his phaser and hit it dead
on. The creature remained still, and Riker thought about putting his
phaser away, when it started to move toward them. He tried again, hit-
ting the creature. The creature seemed to shrug it off as it continued
to advance toward the group with increased speed. It was ready to jump
when, from another direction, a beam of light hit the creature. It slowly
faded away into nothingness.
Riker turned in the direction of the shot. Worf was standing there,
next to Ensign Ripley, and was looking at where the creature once stood. He
then looked up at Commander Riker.
"I thought you could use a little help," he simply stated, as he put
away his phaser.
"Thanks."
"Over here." It was Ensign Ripley, motioning Dr. Crusher over to
join her. Ripley was already removing the organic material from some-
one who was still alive when Doctor Crusher arrived.
"It's alright. We're here to help you." Beverly smiled.
What he said next was something the good Doctor was not expecting to
hear. "Please, kill me."
Beverly looked into the eyes of the man, whose eyes did not betray
his true feelings, or the words he had just said. He really wanted to
die, Beverly thought. She wondered why when his body started to con-
vulse. He was in agony, thrashing wildly about, almost knocking Ripley
and Dr. Crusher over. Beverly was about to reach for her hypo, when
something happened.
His body arced upward as blood started to erupt outward from his
chest region. It seemed to fall apart, as if something was smashing up-
ward through his chest, and a large gaping hole began to form.
Worf shoved the Doctor and the Ensign out of the way as something
came forward through the hole. It shrieked loudly, the same shriek
that the away team had heard in the corridor, struggling to free itself
from the confines of its host. It looked like a worm, but when the Klingon
saw its hands and feet, he quickly dismissed it. The alien thrashed wildly
about, reveling in the blood that splashed all around it, when it sensed the
security officer. The alien flashed it's teeth at Worf, as if proud of what
it had just done. Worf could have sworn that it was smiling.
The alien hissed at him as Worf pulled out his phaser. His mind was
racing in a variety of directions, bringing him to memories he once remembered
as a child that told of a similar creature, a creature that ate the flesh of
living beings, a destroyer of worlds. It was...evil.
His eyes focused upon the alien in full detail. It looked as it it
were laughing.
"Die," he said, as the creature and its host vanished from sight.
Riker had seen all this as it had transpired around him, when he
realized the purpose of the chamber. He felt like hitting himself,
thinking that he should have figured out this whole mess a lot sooner.
"Worf, Data, everybody. Stand by for immediate transport." Riker hit
his combadge, which chirped in acknowledgement. "Enterprise, this is Com-
mander Riker. Six..."
Suddenly, all hell broke loose.
"Away team, come in!" Picard immediately bolted up from his chair,
eyes staring keenly on the ship that the Enterprise was investigating.
"Transporter room, beam them up, now!"
O'Brien's voice came through the bridge speakers, his voice filled
with worry. "Sir, I can't get a transporter lock on them. They're
moving!"
Picard's mind began to fill up with feelings of despair, feeling utter-
ly helpless as the situation on the ship out there was deterioating rapidly.
What the devil is going on, he thought. He turned to face Counselor Troi.
Troi obviously sensed what question the Captain was going to ask,
for she replied with the answer. "They are very afraid, sir, and in dan-
ger. As to what the danger is that they feel, I'm afraid I couldn't say."
Troi's eyes revealed the exact same feelings that Picard felt, and seemed
to reach into his soul, searching for that inner fire and strength that all
starship Captains carried with them, hoping to gain support from it, and
finding none there. Picard felt ashamed.
Turning around to face the viewscreen, Picard quickly did an about
face with his emotions; feelings of despair were replaced by shining
examples of hope, and Picard knew that he would get the away team safely
out of danger, and home.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Does the away team stand a chance against the Aliens? Will Captain
Picard rescue his comrades in time? Is Wesley Crusher a dork, or the key
to this whole story? Or will I use the SPD to get them out to safety?
HECK, WHO THE HELL KNOWS!! :^)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
'There you go man, keep as cool as you can. / Eric J. Lorenzo \
Face piles of trials with smiles. It riles them \AKA: Rico and Spam/
to believe that you perceive the web they weave. /lorenzo@ucsu.Colorado.EDU\
Keep on thinking free' -Moody Blues \ also: @Spot and @Tramp /
Path: moe.ksu.ksu.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu!usenet.ins.cwru.edu!agate!boulder!ucsu!ucsu.Colorado.EDU!lorenzo
From: lorenzo@ucsu.Colorado.EDU (Eric J. Lorenzo)
Subject: STORY: Aliens vs. ST
Message-ID: <1992Jul9.183508.11434@ucsu.Colorado.EDU>
Summary: REPOST
Sender: news@ucsu.Colorado.EDU (USENET News System)
Nntp-Posting-Host: ucsu.colorado.edu
Organization: University of Colorado, Boulder
Date: Thu, 9 Jul 1992 18:35:08 GMT
Lines: 330
This story was posted a couple of months ago, but not by the original author.
Unfortunately it was left unfinished at a crucial part. I'm reposting this
because of a story just posted by Erik Johnson. Maybe someone would like to
try and finish this story.
----
The Aliens meet The Next Generation
by
Chet "Cheesehead" Cuaresma
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Captain's Log: StarDate 43451.2. By traveling through the Xenophobic
star system, an unexplored section of the Federation, our sensors have lo-
cated what appears to be another starship, drifting ever so slowly through
space. We are dropping out of warp to intercept and make possible contact
with the ship.
Picard looked up to see the streaking stars on the viewscreen come to
a halt as he completed his log entry. In the center of the screen was a
ship, growing steadily larger as the Enterprise moved closer to greet the
vessel.
"Open hailing frequencies, Mr. Worf," said Captain Picard, a twinge of
curiosity in his voice.
The tall Klingon silently depressed a key to comply with the Captain's
orders. It was less than a second when his low, baritone voice replied
tersely, "Open."
"Unknown starship, this is Captain Jean-Luc Picard commanding the Fe-
deration starship Enterprise. Our intentions are of a peaceful nature.
Please, respond." Picard just stood there for a few moments, waiting for
a response. When none came, he tried to contact them a second time, again
resulting in silence.
"Data, any life form readings?"
Data looked at his console quickly, then replied to the Captain. "Our
sensors do detect humanoid life form readings from the ship, sir. The ship
appears to be equipped with some sort of fusion drive, which is supplying
only enough power to maintain normal life support conditions and a few other
sub-systems. The ship's design is similar to that of Earth vessels used in
the 21st Century where..."
"Thank you, Mr. Data," said Picard, realizing that Data was about to
go off on another tangent other than the question he had asked. He turned
around to face Troi, who was already concentrating on the ship. "Counselor,
what do you sense over there?"
Troi stared intently at the viewscreen, a look of puzzlement appearing
across her face. "I sense...despair, fear, and...death. Sir, these people
want to die...they embrace it openly...no hope..." Deanna Troi looked as
if she was going to faint. Picard quickly reached over and held her in
place. Troi looked up at him and smiled. "Its okay, sir. I'm fine, now.
Their emotions were so overwhelming..." Troi shook her head.
"Why do they feel this way?" Commander Riker asked, turning in his
chair to face the Counselor.
They know that they are going to die, and they feel that nothing
can change that. I just don't know what..." Troi looked back at the
ship.
Picard followed the Counselor's gaze, returning to face the view-
screen. Beside him, Riker appeared, getting up from his seat to also
stare at the ship. It has a hypnotic quality about it, Riker thought.
Everybody on the bridge just stood there, looking at the object that
was transfixed on the viewscreen. Seconds passed.
"Ensign Crusher," Picard said, quickly cutting through the silence
that was beginning to spread throughout the bridge. "Bring us within
transporter range of the vessel." The young lad simply replied, "Aye",
as Picard turned to face his First Officer. "Number One, I do believe
this incident warrants an investigation."
"Agreed. Permission to assemble an away team?"
"Granted." Picard began to walk over to his seat.
Commander Riker nodded, then started to select his away team members.
"Worf, Data, come with me. Doctor Crusher, your presence is requested for
away team duty."
From out of nowhere came a voice, a voice that was distinctly familiar
to all the bridge crew. "Understood."
The doors to the turbolift closed slowly, concealing the members of
the away team as they were being wisked away to the transporter room. Pi-
card returned to looking at the viewscreen, staring inquisitively at the
vessel as the Enterprise continued to close the gap that was between them.
"Picard to transporter room."
"Transporter room, O'Brien here." Good, our best transporter opera-
tor, Picard thought.
"Prepare to transport the away team over to the ship. And O'Brien?"
"Sir?"
"Beam them out of there at the first sign of trouble."
"Acknowledged." The communication channel closed.
Picard sat back in his chair, his eyes trying to pry loose whatever
secrets the ship was hiding. Why did he get the feeling that Riker and
his away team were walking into a death trap?
Five glimmers of light appeared in a darkened corridor, shedding light
to an otherwise dead ship. As the light grew in intensity, five figures
began to form, slowly evolving as Riker, Data, Worf, Dr. Crusher and her
assistant, Ensign Ripley, began to look around. The corridor was barely
lighted, but lighted enough so that the away team could make out the cor-
ridor's many twists and turns. Riker surveyed the area slowly, taking in
everything he could see, and boy, was it a mess. Metal grating was seen
dangling from various points along the corridor wall, as were pipes and
a variety of other objects. Poor maintenance? Riker quickly threw that
idea out of his head as he ventured forward to survey the rest of the cor-
ridor.
Worf moved ever so slowly, looking intently for any hidden weapons or
surprises that may endanger the away team. Indeed, it looked as if a
battle had waged itself throughout this whole corridor, Worf thought. He
wondered if the rest of the ship was like this, when something caught his
eye. "Commander."
Riker turned from his current position, and walked over to where Lieu-
tenant Worf stood. "What is it, Lieutenant?"
"Take a look at this." Riker knelt down to examine the hole that Worf
was pointing his flashlight through. Besides this hole, there were other
holes, directly below the one he was looking at. Each of these holes seemed
to go through many levels of the ship, Riker thought. He then looked up, and
saw more holes directly above his position. What did this?
"Commander." Beverly was studying her tricorder rather seriously,
as if hoping the thing would give her more information. "Life signs,
in that direction." She pointed opposite of where Lt. Commander Data
stood. Data was looking at what appeared to be some sticky substance
that was on the floor.
"Alright, let's go," said Riker, who was gesturing everyone to walk
towards his direction. "Doctor, you lead the way."
Beverly nodded, as she and the rest of the team adventured forward.
In what seemed an eternity, they traversed endless corridors until they
reached a door which the Doctor's tricorder did indicate was in the
direction of the life signs. As they were going to open the door,
Riker's combadge chirped.
"Riker here," he said, motioning everybody to stop what they were
doing.
"You had us worried, Number One," Picard said. "We were expecting you
to contact us quickly, but I guess this expedition is turning out to be a
real puzzle." Picard's tone of voice was filled with concern.
"You're right about that, sir," Riker replied, slowly surveying the
area around him. "The ship is a real mess, akin to Mr. Worf's descrip-
tion, as if a battle was waged throughout it's interior." Riker looked
at Worf, who was now examining the door. "We are just about to check
out the life signs on the ship."
"Do you require any assistance?" Picard said, who sounded relieved
that nothing had happened to the away team.
"Not yet, sir, but I'll let you know."
"Be careful, Number One. Keep me posted. Picard out."
Riker centered his attention on the door. Data was hovering over
some panel to the side of the door, examining it with his tricorder.
"Will it open the door?" Riker asked Data, who folded up his tri-
corder and turned to face the First Officer.
"It should, sir. I could detect nothing wrong with its circuitry as
I scanned it with my tricorder." Data again looked at the panel.
"Proceed then, Data." Riker stepped back from the door, motioning
Dr. Crusher and Ensign Ripley behind him, while Worf took out his phaser,
and stood just a few feet from the left side of the door. Data depressed
something on the panel. The doors slid open.
What appeared before them was something of a shock. Beyond the door
was another corridor, but one that was very different than the ones they
were traversing before. Along either side of the corridor was a material
that Riker couldn't make out; it looked organic in nature, and standing
from the door and looking ahead, it seemed as if the corridor was alive.
The material seemed to glisten as Worf's flashlight shone itself alongside
the walls of the corridor.
"The life signs are indicated in that direction?" said Ensign Ripley,
a hint of fear in her voice as she pointed her finger in the direction of
the corridor.
"Uh-huh," Beverly said. "That's what the tricorder indicates."
"Okay, everybody, let's go in," Riker said, his stern voice of com-
mand seemingly bringing everybody out of a trance. "I'll take the lead,
followed by Data, the Doctor and the Ensign. Worf, you take the rear."
Riker took out his phaser, and stepped forward into the corridor.
They moved slowly, taking in everything as they walked closer and
closer to the life signs mentioned by the Doctor's tricorder. The corridor
seemed to expand wider as they continued their journey through the ship.
Riker began to wonder whether this was all a dream, when Data got his atten-
tion. Riker stopped moving forward, and turned to face Data, who was
fingering some substance he took from the walls. "What is it, Data?"
"Sir, this is the same substance I found on the floor when we first
arrived on the ship." Data continued to examine the substance, which
looked like a collection of transparent fibers. It was similar to what
Data had seen earlier on the ship.
"A connection?" Riker asked.
"Possibly. But the connection eludes me." Data dropped the sub-
stance to the floor.
Before they could even move, a sound erupted from somewhere ahead.
It sounded unearthly, similar to the shriek of a wounded animal, but as
to what the animal was, that was uncertain. It echoed throughout the
corridor for what was an eternity, then faded into nothingness. A shiver
ran down Riker's spine, as he thought of beaming back to the ship. Star-
fleet training quickly took over, however, and Riker was soon motioning
the rest of the group forward.
The corridor deposited them into a large chamber that was just a
bit wider than the Enterprise's main bridge. The ceiling, however, was
much higher than Federation starship designers would ever allow. Perhaps
the most shocking thing in the chamber were the bodies found decorating
the walls. Some were decaying bodies, with large gaps found in their
chest region. Others appeared to be alive, but in some sort of comatose
state. They appeared to be encased in that same organic substance that
decorated the corridor they had just traveled through. Those same fibers
that Data had picked up before seemed to intertwine with their bodies.
Riker began to wonder what could have caused those gaps.
"Please, help me." It was a soft voice, behind where Dr. Crusher
stood. Immediately, she turned around.
"God in heaven," she said, as she ran toward the wall where a little
boy was hanging from, the transparent fibers seemingly holding him in place.
Data got to the boy before the Doctor did, and began to tear away the organic
substance that covered most of his body. Riker and Worf ran over to assist
Data in his endeavor. As Dr. Crusher ran a diagnostic wand over the boy's
body, he passed out.
"How is he, Doctor?" Riker asked.
"From the looks of things, the boy hasn't had anything to eat in
weeks. He'll be fine, but I'll have to get him back to the Enterprise.
I just don't...WHAT is THAT!?"
Riker turned around. The object that caught the good Doctor's atten-
tion was oval-shaped, and looked just like an egg, except that it had a flat
base.
"Data," he said simply, motioning the android to where he was stand-
ing. "Come take a look at this."
Data moved over to the First Officer's position, and began to ana-
lyze it with his tricorder.
"Well?" Riker was just as curious as the Lt. Commander in de-
termining what the object before them was. "What do you make of it?"
Before Data could even reply, the egg opened up slowly, hiding
something that appeared to be moving around in its interior. Data moved
his head slightly forward to see what is was.
"Careful, Data," Riker cautioned, "we don't know it..."
Something jumped.
It was lightening fast, whatever it was, and all Riker could see
was a blur. He was going to shove Data aside...when he saw that Data
had grabbed the thing in midair before it hit the android in the face.
Great reflexes, Riker thought.
The creature appeared to resemble a spider, which still wasn't an
accurate description of the life form. It's legs were moving about
furiously, as if trying to grab hold of something other than Data's
hands. The tail of the creature was lashing about, trying to wrap
itself around anything for support.
"Most intriguing, Commander," Data said, his child-like curiousity
taking over the features of his face. "Notice the tubular projection
from the base of the creature. I believe it is trying to attach itself
to my face, for reasons I do not know. The creature is remarkable si-
milar..."
"Save it, Data," Riker cut in, in a tone of voice that found the
creature unappealing. He pointed over to a corner of the chamber.
"Throw it in that corner over there, and I'll stun it."
Data complied, throwing the creature in the corner that Riker men-
tioned. As it hit the ground, RIker fired his phaser and hit it dead
on. The creature remained still, and Riker thought about putting his
phaser away, when it started to move toward them. He tried again, hit-
ting the creature. The creature seemed to shrug it off as it continued
to advance toward the group with increased speed. It was ready to jump
when, from another direction, a beam of light hit the creature. It slowly
faded away into nothingness.
Riker turned in the direction of the shot. Worf was standing there,
next to Ensign Ripley, and was looking at where the creature once stood. He
then looked up at Commander Riker.
"I thought you could use a little help," he simply stated, as he put
away his phaser.
"Thanks."
"Over here." It was Ensign Ripley, motioning Dr. Crusher over to
join her. Ripley was already removing the organic material from some-
one who was still alive when Doctor Crusher arrived.
"It's alright. We're here to help you." Beverly smiled.
What he said next was something the good Doctor was not expecting to
hear. "Please, kill me."
Beverly looked into the eyes of the man, whose eyes did not betray
his true feelings, or the words he had just said. He really wanted to
die, Beverly thought. She wondered why when his body started to con-
vulse. He was in agony, thrashing wildly about, almost knocking Ripley
and Dr. Crusher over. Beverly was about to reach for her hypo, when
something happened.
His body arced upward as blood started to erupt outward from his
chest region. It seemed to fall apart, as if something was smashing up-
ward through his chest, and a large gaping hole began to form.
Worf shoved the Doctor and the Ensign out of the way as something
came forward through the hole. It shrieked loudly, the same shriek
that the away team had heard in the corridor, struggling to free itself
from the confines of its host. It looked like a worm, but when the Klingon
saw its hands and feet, he quickly dismissed it. The alien thrashed wildly
about, reveling in the blood that splashed all around it, when it sensed the
security officer. The alien flashed it's teeth at Worf, as if proud of what
it had just done. Worf could have sworn that it was smiling.
The alien hissed at him as Worf pulled out his phaser. His mind was
racing in a variety of directions, bringing him to memories he once remembered
as a child that told of a similar creature, a creature that ate the flesh of
living beings, a destroyer of worlds. It was...evil.
His eyes focused upon the alien in full detail. It looked as it it
were laughing.
"Die," he said, as the creature and its host vanished from sight.
Riker had seen all this as it had transpired around him, when he
realized the purpose of the chamber. He felt like hitting himself,
thinking that he should have figured out this whole mess a lot sooner.
"Worf, Data, everybody. Stand by for immediate transport." Riker hit
his combadge, which chirped in acknowledgement. "Enterprise, this is Com-
mander Riker. Six..."
Suddenly, all hell broke loose.
"Away team, come in!" Picard immediately bolted up from his chair,
eyes staring keenly on the ship that the Enterprise was investigating.
"Transporter room, beam them up, now!"
O'Brien's voice came through the bridge speakers, his voice filled
with worry. "Sir, I can't get a transporter lock on them. They're
moving!"
Picard's mind began to fill up with feelings of despair, feeling utter-
ly helpless as the situation on the ship out there was deterioating rapidly.
What the devil is going on, he thought. He turned to face Counselor Troi.
Troi obviously sensed what question the Captain was going to ask,
for she replied with the answer. "They are very afraid, sir, and in dan-
ger. As to what the danger is that they feel, I'm afraid I couldn't say."
Troi's eyes revealed the exact same feelings that Picard felt, and seemed
to reach into his soul, searching for that inner fire and strength that all
starship Captains carried with them, hoping to gain support from it, and
finding none there. Picard felt ashamed.
Turning around to face the viewscreen, Picard quickly did an about
face with his emotions; feelings of despair were replaced by shining
examples of hope, and Picard knew that he would get the away team safely
out of danger, and home.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Does the away team stand a chance against the Aliens? Will Captain
Picard rescue his comrades in time? Is Wesley Crusher a dork, or the key
to this whole story? Or will I use the SPD to get them out to safety?
HECK, WHO THE HELL KNOWS!! :^)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
'There you go man, keep as cool as you can. / Eric J. Lorenzo \
Face piles of trials with smiles. It riles them \AKA: Rico and Spam/
to believe that you perceive the web they weave. /lorenzo@ucsu.Colorado.EDU\
Keep on thinking free' -Moody Blues \ also: @Spot and @Tramp /
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