Possession - J.M. Dillard [90]
“You’ve been touched by them,” she repeated, moving closer until she stood beside him, “but they can’t affect you. They’re inside, trapped—harmless.”
He believed her utterly. “Can I—can I infect others?” The thought of Alexander and Kyla, innocently awaiting him in his quarters, evoked concern.
She stared deeply into his eyes, and he willed his mind to be open to her, to give her the information she needed. Her large shining black eyes were open, honest, and free of the madness and strange swirling colors he had seen in Crusher’s.
“No,” she said at last, causing him to sigh in relief. “They’re dying. Trapped inside you, with all your intensity, your powerful emotions raging around yet completely unavailable to them. They’re dying quickly, unable to escape.”
“A fitting death for such cowardly creatures,” he told her.
As he spoke, she gasped and glanced around them, catching hold of his sleeve.
“What is it, Counselor? Are the entities in sickbay still affecting you? We can call Dr. Crusher for help. Now that the malady is destroyed—”
She shook her head, still glancing nervously around the strangely empty corridor. “We have to find Data! Right away, Worf. We’ve got to find him.”
“Of course,” he agreed, humoring her and reaching for his comm badge.
She caught his hand. “Not like that! The others might hear.”
“Others? Counselor, what is wrong? You are acting as though you have seen a spirit!”
She drew a deep breath to calm herself and released it with a shudder, then faced him somberly. “That’s exactly what I’ve seen… . The entities, Worf—they’re still here. The shutdown, the anesthetic, and the accelerator—they didn’t cure anyone.”
“But Dr. Crusher and Geordi—I saw them myself.”
“They’re pretending. They’re still infected. You must believe me, Worf—everyone aboard this ship is in terrible danger. They have the captain!”
“That is impossible! I just left him. All was well—he sent me to my quarters.”
Troi shook her head. “Riker attacked him in his ready room. I can feel what Picard’s feeling… .” She closed her eyes as if momentarily overwhelmed by the sensation, then opened them again. “Nothing has changed. They’ve got over twenty-five percent of the ship under their control, the most critical twenty-five percent, including Crusher, La Forge, Riker—and the captain!”
Now it was Worf who nervously scanned the hallway. Grabbing Troi’s arm with slightly more force than he intended, he pulled her down the corridor and into the privacy of his quarters.
Their sudden entry startled both Kyla and Alexander, who were placing food on the table. Without an introductory word to them, Worf demanded of the empath, “Are they affected?” He pointed to his son and Dannelke, who could only stare back in bewilderment. “Are they part of the twenty-five percent?”
The counselor did as instructed, scanning the two, who watched her in startled confusion.
“No,” Deanna said at last, her voice showing the same deep relief Worf felt. “No, they’re fine.”
“Worf?” Kyla finally set down the plateful of steaming food in her hands. “What’s going on?”
“This is our ship’s counselor, Deanna Troi,” Worf explained. “You heard the captain’s explanation of the infection we attempted to cure during the shipwide shutdown? The counselor says the shutdown failed in its purpose. Apparently, after I left him, the captain was attacked and subdued! Even now, he has been overcome by these accursed creatures!”
“We have to find Data,” Deanna repeated. “He can’t be affected by the entities, and they know that. They might attempt to deactivate him, because he’s our best hope of wresting control of the ship from the infected crew. Right now, he’s with Picard. I can sense the captain talking to him, wanting to rely on him. He still has some of his free will; he’s fighting it as hard as he can! Oh, Worf!” Her tone grew anguished. “All he can think of was the time he was abducted by the Borg!”
The thought evoked such rage in the Klingon that he knew he must channel