A Call to Darkness - Michael Jan Friedman [103]
“They’re here, sir,” said O’Brien finally. “All five of them. Captain Picard, Doctor Pulaski, Lieutenants Worf and La Forge. And Lieutenant Commander Data, of course.”
Riker nodded, feeling as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders. “I’m on my way.”
One moment, he had been standing in a dank, stone corridor. The next, he found himself somewhere else entirely-on a strange sort of illuminated platform in a pleasant if austere-looking room.
The others were there with him. The warrior and Geordi and the woman and the marshal who had come to relocate them. Or had they determined that he was not a marshal, but rather one of Ralak’kai’s people in disguise?
Picard was very confused.
“You can come down from there now,” said the only other person in the room-a fellow half-concealed behind what appeared to be a machine. He was still tinkering with it as he spoke.
“Of course,” said the one who resembled Ralak’kai. “As soon as Doctor Pulaski gets her bearings.”
The woman appeared a trifle unsteady. She was clutching the pallid one’s arm for support.
“Thanks for the help,” she told him. “I guess androids are built to withstand the rigors of teleportation better than humans.”
Androids? Teleportation?
Picard wondered what he had gotten himself into-though, no matter what it was, it had to be better than awaiting execution.
He turned to Geordi, and the dark man shrugged. “Don’t look at me,” he said. “I’m new here myself.”
Grrr…
“Simmer down, Worf,” said the female. What was her name? Pulaski? “This is the place I told you about-the Enterprise.”
Picard glanced back at the warrior, saw the wild and wary look in his eyes, and decided to give him as wide a berth as possible. Geordi must have had a similar thought because he followed Picard off the platform without a moment’s hesitation.
At the same time, an opening appeared in the wall-in the wall? -mand three people stepped through. One was tall and bearded; another, a female, was darkly beautiful. The third, another man, was unremarkable looking.
“Ah,” said Pulaski, “just the people I want to see.” Suddenly recovered, she made her way past the others. “Data told me about the spread of the disease. We’ve got to move quickly.”
The bearded man stared at her. “Doctor-you have your memory, don’t you?”
“Yes. That’s another thing we have to discuss.”
“I too have something to discuss,” said the pallid one, raising a slender finger for attention. He came down off the platform, leaving the warrior there alone. “I was able to bring together two other groups of Federation personnel. What’s more, I have their coordinates, and…”
The bearded man stopped him with a clap on the shoulder. “It’s all right, Data. We’ve got them already. We stumbled onto them while you were gone.”
The one called Data seemed to brighten at the news. “Ah,” he said. “Well done, sir.”
“There aren’t any other groups?” asked the bearded man. “Are there?”
The pallid one’s expression changed again. “No, sir. There were no other survivors.”
A somber silence swept the room. Finally, the bearded man dispelled it with a command-though he appeared to be speaking to no one in particular. It was almost as if he were addressing an invisible helper, hovering somewhere near the ceiling.
“Riker to bridge. Let’s get out of here, Mister Sharif-any heading that appeals to you. Before we run out of luck with the Klah’kimmbri.”
“I’m afraid we already have, sir. The energy mantle is materializing again.”
The voice seemed to come out of nowhere. Picard looked around, but he couldn’t catch anyone speaking.
The bearded man frowned. “All right, then. Maintain present position for the time being.”
He turned toward Picard, nodded. “Welcome back, Captain.”
Picard returned the nod. “Thank you,” he said.
Captain?
Then the bearded man was exiting through that same hole in the wall-and taking half the people in the room with him.
The dark-haired female with the lovely black eyes seemed to be the one in charge now. She smiled at each