Star Trek: The Next Generation: Starfleet Academy #6: Mystery of the Missing Crew by Michael Jan Friedman
Authors: Michael Jan Friedman
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blue in that spot.
It meant that the first of his commands had been carried out. One of the intruders was now pinned under a gravity ten times as strong as that of Earth.
One down, thought the android … and five to go. A moment later a second section on the sensor grid turned blue. And a third.
All three of the intruders on Deck Five had been rendered useless. And as Data watched, a fourth—the construct on Deck One, near the engine room—was neutralized as well.
“Only two left,” Sinna observed. Before she had completed her remark, a fifth red dot was captured, leaving only a single construct still at large—the one on their level.
The android tracked its movement along the grid, calculated its speed, and came up with an estimate of when it would arrive at the site of the gravity trap. Then he checked the computer’s progress in creating the trap.
“Are we going to be in time?” asked Sinna. Her voice was taut with concern.
Data’s answer was simple, to the point, and completely lacking in emotion. “No,” he informed her. “We are not. The construct will pass the location of the trap several seconds before it is set up.”
Sinna’s jaw dropped. “You mean it’s going to keep on coming … and there’s nothing we can do to stop it?” She tried to compose herself. “Aren’t you the least bit afraid of what might happen now?”
Without looking at her, the android started working at his controls again. “I am incapable of being afraid,” he explained. “It is not part of my programming. However, I have no more wish to be destroyed than you do. That is why I have already begun to institute a secondary plan.”
That seemed to calm her down a bit. “Secondary?” she echoed. “You mean, there’s still a chance…?”
“That we can stop it?” Keeping his eyes on the console, he nodded. “A chance, yes—but with even less possibility of success than before. You see, this plan depends not only on the ship’s computer, but on us .”
“That’s fine with me,” said Sinna, surprising him. The muscles in her temples rippled with determination. “Anything’s better than sitting here and waiting. What do we have to do?”
Data turned to her. “I have instructed the computer to set up another trap. However, it lies along only one of the several routes the invader may take to get here. And if it proceeds along a different route, the trap will be useless.”
His companion eyed him. “I see what you’re getting at. We have to find it and get it to pursue us along that route. That is, without becoming trapped ourselves, of course.”
“Exactly,” replied the android. “Of course,” he went on, “it would have been more convenient to institute the trap directly outside this control room. However, we would then have been unable to exit without releasing the construct from the forces binding it.”
Sinna nodded to signify her understanding. With one last glance at the life support console, “Data led the way out into the corridor and gestured for her to follow.
“Come,” the android said. “We must act quickly.”
With the Yanna on his heels, Data launched himself down the corridor. It took only a few seconds for him to reach an intersection, where he turned right and pelted down a second corridor. At the next junction he made a left and kept on going.
His companion did her best to keep up. Right now that was all that was necessary. It was when they actually encountered their adversary that they would have any real need for speed.
Little by little, they approached the point at which their path would intersect with that of the intruder. Data could only hope that their adversary had seen no reason to take a different path, or he and Sinna could be in trouble. After all, without the internal sensor grid to refer to, they might as well have been operating in the dark.
A few moments later, however, they came across some evidence that they were on the right track. Naturally, the
It meant that the first of his commands had been carried out. One of the intruders was now pinned under a gravity ten times as strong as that of Earth.
One down, thought the android … and five to go. A moment later a second section on the sensor grid turned blue. And a third.
All three of the intruders on Deck Five had been rendered useless. And as Data watched, a fourth—the construct on Deck One, near the engine room—was neutralized as well.
“Only two left,” Sinna observed. Before she had completed her remark, a fifth red dot was captured, leaving only a single construct still at large—the one on their level.
The android tracked its movement along the grid, calculated its speed, and came up with an estimate of when it would arrive at the site of the gravity trap. Then he checked the computer’s progress in creating the trap.
“Are we going to be in time?” asked Sinna. Her voice was taut with concern.
Data’s answer was simple, to the point, and completely lacking in emotion. “No,” he informed her. “We are not. The construct will pass the location of the trap several seconds before it is set up.”
Sinna’s jaw dropped. “You mean it’s going to keep on coming … and there’s nothing we can do to stop it?” She tried to compose herself. “Aren’t you the least bit afraid of what might happen now?”
Without looking at her, the android started working at his controls again. “I am incapable of being afraid,” he explained. “It is not part of my programming. However, I have no more wish to be destroyed than you do. That is why I have already begun to institute a secondary plan.”
That seemed to calm her down a bit. “Secondary?” she echoed. “You mean, there’s still a chance…?”
“That we can stop it?” Keeping his eyes on the console, he nodded. “A chance, yes—but with even less possibility of success than before. You see, this plan depends not only on the ship’s computer, but on us .”
“That’s fine with me,” said Sinna, surprising him. The muscles in her temples rippled with determination. “Anything’s better than sitting here and waiting. What do we have to do?”
Data turned to her. “I have instructed the computer to set up another trap. However, it lies along only one of the several routes the invader may take to get here. And if it proceeds along a different route, the trap will be useless.”
His companion eyed him. “I see what you’re getting at. We have to find it and get it to pursue us along that route. That is, without becoming trapped ourselves, of course.”
“Exactly,” replied the android. “Of course,” he went on, “it would have been more convenient to institute the trap directly outside this control room. However, we would then have been unable to exit without releasing the construct from the forces binding it.”
Sinna nodded to signify her understanding. With one last glance at the life support console, “Data led the way out into the corridor and gestured for her to follow.
“Come,” the android said. “We must act quickly.”
With the Yanna on his heels, Data launched himself down the corridor. It took only a few seconds for him to reach an intersection, where he turned right and pelted down a second corridor. At the next junction he made a left and kept on going.
His companion did her best to keep up. Right now that was all that was necessary. It was when they actually encountered their adversary that they would have any real need for speed.
Little by little, they approached the point at which their path would intersect with that of the intruder. Data could only hope that their adversary had seen no reason to take a different path, or he and Sinna could be in trouble. After all, without the internal sensor grid to refer to, they might as well have been operating in the dark.
A few moments later, however, they came across some evidence that they were on the right track. Naturally, the
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