Star Trek: The Next Generation: Starfleet Academy #6: Mystery of the Missing Crew by Michael Jan Friedman Page B
Authors: Michael Jan Friedman
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screeching voices.
Smoke billowed around the android and his companion in thick, black clouds. Fragments of the bulkhead spattered and sizzled on the deck around his feet. And still he went on, plunging toward what he hoped was their salvation.
Squinting, Data did his best to see past the smoke … past the crackling, red energy beams that tore tunnels of lurid light through it … to the upcoming intersection. He could barely make out the corners where the bulkheads ended, giving way to the perpendicular corridor.
What he had to accomplish in the next second or two would require split-second timing. After all, if he stopped too soon and cut right or left, the machine in pursuit of him would note that and do the. same.
But if he waited too long to stop, he and Sinna would slide into the gravity trap. And while all that high-intensity g-force probably wouldn’t prove lethal to him , it certainly would to the Yanna. Nor could he toss her away at the last moment—because the intruder might go after her instead of the android.
The smoke slid past him on either side. Not yet , he told himself.
A crimson beam incinerated the fabric that covered his right shoulder, barely missing the soft artificial flesh beneath it. Not yet , he repeated silently.
A spot on the deck beside his foot was turned into a black, oozing wound. Not yet , he resolved, clenching his teeth.
And then, when it seemed he had no choice but to plunge headlong through the intersection and the trap that awaited him on the other side, the android planted his left foot and veered off sharply to the right.
He couldn’t have waited any longer, he thought, as he and his companion whirled and came to a halt. But would it be enough? Would his scheme produce the desired results?
Data got his answer a fraction of a second later as the intruder went careening through the intersection at full speed … and ran straight into the gravity trap.
For a moment all was silent in the corridor except for Sinna’s ragged breathing. Steeling himself, the android edged his way to the corner of the bulkhead and craned his neck, to peer around it.
To his surprise, he found the intruder staring right at him, its weapon arm raised in his direction. Only then did it occur to Data that he may have miscalculated. Though the same sort of gravity trap had been effective against the five other invaders, this more powerful, more lethal version of the construct might have been able to shrug off the trap’s effects.
Data could almost see the stab of crimson energy that would spell his doom. But it never came.
Instead, the construct toppled forward at the waist, finally falling victim to the android’s snare. And once it was bent over like that," there was no chance of its getting up.
“It worked,” said a voice from behind Data. He turned his head and saw that Sinna had come up behind him. “You did it,” she said, chuckling. “You immobilized every last one of them.”
“So it would appear,” the android agreed. At least for now, the constructs had been neutralized.
However, that didn’t mean that they were out of danger. Once the aliens saw that their invaders had failed, they might decide to attack the Yosemite in some other way.
“Computer,” said the android abruptly, “give me the bridge. Are you there, Lagon?”
It took only a moment for Lagon to respond. “Where else would I be?” asked the Yanna. “Are you all right?”
“We are fine,” Data assured him. “And you?”
“Fine as well.”
“No further threats from the alien ship?” asked the android.
“None,” replied Lagon.
“We were concerned,” said a new voice, which Data recognized as Odri1’s. “We were afraid the invaders might have gotten to you before they became incapacitated.”
“Incapacitated?” repeated Sinna, smiling playfully at Data.
“Yes,” replied Lagon. “At least, that’s what the computer tells us. Apparently, they ran into some trouble with the artificial
Smoke billowed around the android and his companion in thick, black clouds. Fragments of the bulkhead spattered and sizzled on the deck around his feet. And still he went on, plunging toward what he hoped was their salvation.
Squinting, Data did his best to see past the smoke … past the crackling, red energy beams that tore tunnels of lurid light through it … to the upcoming intersection. He could barely make out the corners where the bulkheads ended, giving way to the perpendicular corridor.
What he had to accomplish in the next second or two would require split-second timing. After all, if he stopped too soon and cut right or left, the machine in pursuit of him would note that and do the. same.
But if he waited too long to stop, he and Sinna would slide into the gravity trap. And while all that high-intensity g-force probably wouldn’t prove lethal to him , it certainly would to the Yanna. Nor could he toss her away at the last moment—because the intruder might go after her instead of the android.
The smoke slid past him on either side. Not yet , he told himself.
A crimson beam incinerated the fabric that covered his right shoulder, barely missing the soft artificial flesh beneath it. Not yet , he repeated silently.
A spot on the deck beside his foot was turned into a black, oozing wound. Not yet , he resolved, clenching his teeth.
And then, when it seemed he had no choice but to plunge headlong through the intersection and the trap that awaited him on the other side, the android planted his left foot and veered off sharply to the right.
He couldn’t have waited any longer, he thought, as he and his companion whirled and came to a halt. But would it be enough? Would his scheme produce the desired results?
Data got his answer a fraction of a second later as the intruder went careening through the intersection at full speed … and ran straight into the gravity trap.
For a moment all was silent in the corridor except for Sinna’s ragged breathing. Steeling himself, the android edged his way to the corner of the bulkhead and craned his neck, to peer around it.
To his surprise, he found the intruder staring right at him, its weapon arm raised in his direction. Only then did it occur to Data that he may have miscalculated. Though the same sort of gravity trap had been effective against the five other invaders, this more powerful, more lethal version of the construct might have been able to shrug off the trap’s effects.
Data could almost see the stab of crimson energy that would spell his doom. But it never came.
Instead, the construct toppled forward at the waist, finally falling victim to the android’s snare. And once it was bent over like that," there was no chance of its getting up.
“It worked,” said a voice from behind Data. He turned his head and saw that Sinna had come up behind him. “You did it,” she said, chuckling. “You immobilized every last one of them.”
“So it would appear,” the android agreed. At least for now, the constructs had been neutralized.
However, that didn’t mean that they were out of danger. Once the aliens saw that their invaders had failed, they might decide to attack the Yosemite in some other way.
“Computer,” said the android abruptly, “give me the bridge. Are you there, Lagon?”
It took only a moment for Lagon to respond. “Where else would I be?” asked the Yanna. “Are you all right?”
“We are fine,” Data assured him. “And you?”
“Fine as well.”
“No further threats from the alien ship?” asked the android.
“None,” replied Lagon.
“We were concerned,” said a new voice, which Data recognized as Odri1’s. “We were afraid the invaders might have gotten to you before they became incapacitated.”
“Incapacitated?” repeated Sinna, smiling playfully at Data.
“Yes,” replied Lagon. “At least, that’s what the computer tells us. Apparently, they ran into some trouble with the artificial
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