Star Trek-TNG-Novel-Imzadi 1

by Peter David [lit]

"Because they may be watching for anything unusual

  --and you running down the corridor in your

  nightclothes would qualify."

  "Who is "they"'?"

  "I said don't interrupt. Just listen:

  Deanna is going to be poisoned." He pushed

  on despite W's expression of astonishment and

  held up the vial from his jacket. "This

  will counteract it. You've got to get to her quarters

  and get her to drink it. And you've got"--he

  glanced at his chronometer--?j over fifteen

  minutes to do it."

  At that moment, W's communicator beeped.

  "You don't have time!" hissed the admiral.

  But Will, never taking his eyes off the admiral,

  tapped it. "Riker here."

  "Security alert, sir," came the deep

  voice of Worf. "An intruder was reported in

  your general vicinity. Have you seen him?"

  Will Riker stared at his future self.

  The admiral realized that everything was hinging on this

  moment. A ^w from Commander Riker would bring Worf

  and his people charging to the rescue. And the admiral had not

  had enough time to convince his younger self of the truth of his

  ^ws.

  ^ws.

  His own ^ws.

  And in a very low voice, he said, "The future

  holds such promise ... and just as I cannot imag-

  ine how I survived the past ... without you ..."

  W's eyes widened in shock, even as over his

  communicator Worf said, "Commander ... what

  did you say?"

  "Nothing," was the firm reply. "I haven't

  seen him. I'll meet you in a few minutes.

  I just ... have to get dressed. Riker out."

  There was a silence that, to both of them, seemed

  to stretch on for eternity. And then Will said, with slow

  understanding, "She died. In your past ... my

  future ... she died. And you've come back

  somehow to try and prevent it. You're ... you're

  tampering with time ... and the "they"' you're worried

  about are the people from your time--maybe scientists or,

  my God, Starfleet personnel--who might

  try and stop you."

  "She wasn't supposed to die," said the

  admiral. "It was wrong. Wrong for her. Wrong

  for me, for everyone. And I'm here to prevent that

  wrong, and I don't give a damn what

  regulations say, and if you love her ... if

  you're truly Imzadi ... you won't give a

  damn either."

  "But ... but how am I supposed to believe

  you? How am I supposed to just ... just take the

  future into my own hands. Our own hands?"

  The admiral took a step toward him. "We

  do it every moment of our lives, kid. Every day we

  make our own future. But someone came

  back and decided to remake the future in their own

  image ... and now I'm here to stop it."

  "Unless someone stops you. Which means that someone

  isn't certain."

  Admiral Riker grabbed Will Riker by his

  uniform front. Despite his age, his strength was

  almost undiminished and was fueled by anger. "Damn

  you, you sanctimonious clod! You think you know

  everything? You don't know a damn thing! You want

  certainty? This is a certainty, then--Deanna

  is going to die! She's going to writhe on the

  floor and beg you to do something, and all you're going

  to do is watch her suffer massive circulatory

  collapse and die! And it's not going to be until

  that moment, you purbl idiot, that you realize that

  she's the better part of you!"

  "You're ... it's wrong," Will said, but there was

  tremendous conflict in his eyes. "It's wrong

  to tamper with the past. ... I can't believe that

  there's any circumstance under which I'd ... I'd

  knowingly ..."

  "You think you can judge me!" said the

  admiral. "Remember what we wrote? "And

  just as I cannot imagine how I survived the past

  without you ... I cannot imagine a future without

  you."' Remember? Well, I'm the future

  without her, buddy boy, and I can tell you right now

  that it's not something you're going to relish." He

  shoved the vial into Will's palm. "It's going

  to happen, Riker! In just a few minutes now!

  Her life is going to end. You can save it! You have

  the power, right here, right now! Now are you going to stand

  there debating philosophies and moralities and

  rights and wrongs? Or are you going to deal with the

  genuine, real, here-and-now fact that Deanna's

  life is at stake and only you have a hope in

  hell of saving her. And if you don't save her,

  then hell is where you're going to be--forty years of

  hell! Of might-h-beens and what-ifs.

  "Except for me, there was just the frustration that I

  should have done something, but didn't know what. For you,

  it's going to be the knowledge that you could have done something, but

  didn't. How much worse for you, Riker? When you

  call out with your mind, "Imzadiea"' and there's

  no one to respond, no part of your soul that

  acknowledges that the ^w has any meaning to anyone

  else, what will happen to you then? God damn

  you, Riker! When your heart's been cut out,

  how's it going to feel knowing that you're the one

  who wielded the knife?"

  Will ripped away from him, his face ashen, his

  heart pounding.

  "Deanna!" he screamed, and charged from his

  quarters.

  CHAPTER 38

  Dann nibbled at Deanna's neck and began

  to work his way down. She sighed, a slow,

  languorous sigh. She was on the bed, wearing

  only the flimsiest of shifts. She started to push

  it down off her shoulders so that Dann's downward

  course would be unobstructed.

  But still, something bothered her. "Dann ... are you

  all right?"

  He raised his head slightly. "Of course

  I am," he said reasonably. "Why wouldn't I

  be?"

  "I don't know. I just sense ... I mean

  ..."

  And suddenly she sat up, confused, a voice

  echoing in her head. "Will?" she said in bewilderment.

  "What's wrong?" asked Dann, sitting up

  as well.

  "It's ... it's w. Something's wrong ...

  I sense ... total panic. It's ... something

  directed towards me, I don't ..."

  "Deanna, calm down," said Dann

  firmly, taking her by the shoulders. "He's

  probably just, well, jealous about us. That's

  what's giving him anxiety. He's probably

  even asleep and you're just ... just tuning in to his

  dreams somehow. I know you two are close, but--"

  "ationo!" She pushed him aside. "Something

  is wrong."

  "Deanna ..."

  She got out of bed, adjusting the shift around

  her, and went over to her uniform, which was neatly

  hung nearby. She tapped the communicator on

  it and said, "Troi to Riker."

  "Deanna!" came Riker's desperate

  shout. "Stay there! Don't move! I'll be there

  in a few seconds!"

  She spun and faced Dan
n. "Did you hear

  that? He's terrified!"

  "Yes," said Dann sadly. "Yes ... I

  can't say I'm surprised."

  Will hurtled down the corridor at warp

  speed. He skidded once and, to his

  panic, almost bobbled the vial and dropped it. But

  he recovered quickly and turned a corner.

  His mind was racing furiously. He didn't

  know how or why any of this was happening, but there were

  two things of which he was completely, instinctively

  convinced--t he had confronted his future self,

  and that Deanna was going to die in the next few

  minutes.

  He skidded to a halt outside her quarters and

  charged in. Deanna was seated on the bed, arguing

  with Dann, but when she saw Riker, she rose

  to her feet. "Will ...?"

  He thrust the vial outward. "Drink this!

  Quicklyffwas

  Dann came off the bed and stood between them.

  "What are you, crazy? She's not just going to drink

  some vial of unknown liquid because you told her

  to. Get out of here!"

  "Deanna, you have to," said Riker. "Your

  life depends on it."

  Deanna knew, of course, that Riker

  believed every ^w of what he was saying. But it

  didn't make her any less befuddled. "My

  life?"

  "Out of my way!" Riker said to Dann, trying

  to push him aside.

  "Like hell! Deanna, don't listen to him!

  He's trying to hurt you! He's jealous of me!"

  Dann moved once again to block Riker, and this

  time Will grabbed him by the shoulders and tried to push

  him to one side. To his shock, Dann didn't

  budge. He was a head shorter and considerably

  slimmer than Riker, but he held his ground.

  Instead he grabbed Riker by the forearms and held

  him in a grip of iron.

  "Deanna!" shouted Riker, and somehow, in his

  head, he heard a slow, steady ticking, like time

  slipping away from him, spiraling out of control.

  Everything seemed to slow down and distort as he

  twisted in Dann's grasp and flipped the vial

  onto the bed. It landed on the sheets, bounced

  once, and started to tumble to the floor. But

  Deanna's hand snatched out and grabbed it. She

  stared at it, trying to understand.

  "Give me that!" shouted Dann, and her

  head snapped around in amazement at the desperation

  in his tone. With his free hand he lunged for the

  vial, but now Will Riker shifted his grip and

  spun on the ball of his foot. Dann was thrown

  across the room, crashing into furniture.

  "Drink it!" Riker yelled at Deanna.

  "If you ever trusted me, if you ever loved me,

  drink it!"

  Deanna needed no further urging. She

  pulled at the stopper.

  It was stuck.

  Dann came to his feet andwith an

  animalistic roar sprang toward Deanna.

  Riker met his charge, braced himself, and the two of

  them went down in a tumble of arms and legs.

  Riker rolled over, gaining the advantage, and

  pounded furiously on Dann's head. The blows

  didn't seem to have any effect, and Dann

  drove a knee up, shoving Riker off. But

  Riker didn't lose his grip on one of

  Dann's arms, and the Starfleet officer, even off

  balance, managed to send Dann crashing into the

  wall.

  Deanna worked desperately at the stopper,

  kneading it with her fingers. It worked its way

  upward.

  Dann began to transform.

  He became larger, his body covered with thick

  brown fur, his hands shaping into claws.

  Riker recognized his species immediately. It

  was a Chameloid. Shape-shifters, incredibly

  powerful, incredibly dangerous.

  Deanna, her fingers still pushing on the stopper,

  stared at the man she had thought was Dann, her dark

  eyes registering her utter shock. And then, somewhere

  deep within her, she felt some sort of distant,

  burning sensation.

  At that moment, the stopper popped off, rolling

  onto the bed.

  "NO!" roared "Dann," and he made one

  final, desperate lunge. He shoved Riker

  aside, his fingers reaching for the vial, and then Riker

  snared his long, matted fur from behind and leaped on,

  wrapping his arms down and around the Chameloid's

  arms, and up around the creature's neck.

  Deanna drank down the contents of the vial in

  one gulp.

  The Chameloid howled in fury, trying to bat

  Riker off his back. "You idiot! Do you have any

  idea what you've done! Do you?"

  Riker said nothing. Instead, all of his energy was

  being used to shove the creature's neck forward.

  The Chameloid broke the grip, slamming

  Riker to the floor. Towering over him, the

  creature roared, "You selfish bastard!

  You've risked everything!"

  "I've risked everything for Deanna before,"

  Riker said defiantly, "and I'd do it again!"

  "Well, I don't have that choice!" snapped

  the Chameloid.

  He started toward Deanna, his hands

  outstretched ...

  And a phaser blast from behind sent the Chameloid

  to his knees.

  Worf stood in the doorway, his phaser

  leveled. "One side, Commander," he said

  calmly. Immediately Riker leaped out of the way and

  Worf fired again. The phaser beam enveloped the

  Chameloid once again. He wailed in

  frustration, and then consciousness slipped from him and

  he pitched forward, right on top of Riker.

  Worf helped roll the Chameloid off

  Riker, who sat up, rubbing his chest in pain.

  Then he looked to Deanna, who was making a

  similar motion of her own. "Deanna," he said

  urgently, "are you all right? Are--"

  "I ... I felt something. Some sort of ...

  of burning pain in my chest ... but now it's gone.

  Will ... what's happened here? Who is ... is

  that?" She pointed distastefully at the

  unconscious Chameloid. "Where did this vial

  come from? How did you know ...?"

  Riker patted her hand with all the reassurance

  that he could muster at that moment. Then he said,

  "Worf ... get our "fr"' here to the brig.

  Alert the captain, tell him to meet me

  outside my quarters. Emphasize that.

  Outside my quarters."

  "Very well," said Worf, hauling the

  Chameloid over his shoulder. Two other

  security men had shown up by this point, but Worf

  clearly had matters in hand. "Am I correct

  in assuming that this is our intruder?"

  Will looked up at him bleakly. "Worf, you

  don't know the half of it."

  Worf grunted and headed off to the brig with the

  Chameloid. When he was gone, Riker rotated

  his arm, which had been banged up as he'd wrestled

  with the Chameloid.

  Troi, for her part, merely looked at him with

  awe. "You saved my life, W," she said

  quietly. "I was in danger, and you came charging

  in here--risked
your life--and you saved me."

  "Actually," said Riker, "not to sound boastful

  or anything--but it appears I went

  to even greater lengths than that to save you. You'd

  better get dressed and come with me. I don't

  think you're going to believe this unless you see it.

  I'll ..." He cleared his throat, chucking a

  thumb toward the hallway. "I'll wait out here

  for you to put some clothes on."

  "That's very decent of you, Commander."

  She slid off the bed, stood on her toes, and

  kissed him.

  "Thank you for saving me," she whispered in his

  ear.

  He smiled tiredly. "All part of the

  service."

  CHAPTER 39

  When Will and Deanna returned to his cabin,

  Picard was standing there looking extremely

  annoyed.

  "All right, Number One," he said stiffly,

  arms folded. "I have complied with your wishes and

  stood here outside your cabin. I cannot say I like

  to be kept waiting."

  "The counselor was just making herself look

  presentable," said w.

  "Presentable for whom?" demanded Picard.

  "Yes, Commander," chimed in Troi. With the

  danger past, she was all business. "Whom

  exactly am I being made presentable for?"

  For answer, Will walked into his cabin, hoping

  his future self had stayed put. It had

  potential to be a very embarrassing situation if--

  He was gone.

  Will stood in the middle of the cabin, looking around

  dismally. Troi and Picard followed him in, staring

  uncomprehendingly at the officer's obvious

  discomfiture.

  "He was right here!" said Riker desperately.

  "Number One," Picard told him, speaking

  slowly and deliberately, "who ...

  precisely ... was here?"

  "Me."

  It had been Will Riker's voice that had

  replied, but it was not the Will Riker that Picard was

  looking at. For an instant Picard thought that

  Riker was practicing ventriloquism or some such

  nonsense. But then, slowly, Picard realized that

  the voice had come from behind them.

  He turned in time to see a gray-haired

  version of his second-in-command emerging

  from the bathroom. "I was here," he said. "Still am,

  actually. Which makes me con--"

  He caught a glimpse of Deanna, who was

  standing just behind the younger Will Riker. Will stepped

  aside and gestured to her. "I did it," he said

  quietly, "or rather ... we did it."

  Picard had not yet fathomed what to say, much

  less what to make of the situation. At that