Star Trek: The Next Generation™: Slings and Arrows Book 1: A Sea of Troubles

by J. Steven York

  “And I don’t trust it, Captain. I think this time it’s asking for, to consider your offer, is just a stall.”

  “I don’t know if you’re right, Mr. Hawk, but we won’t be waiting to find out. It’s time to finish work on our Changeling trap.”

  CHAPTER

  10

  Geordi La Forge climbed down the long ladder next to the warp core, scanning the plasma flow with his VISOR as he descended. He reached the main engineering level and nodded in greeting to one of several security officers assigned to engineering. Then he turned and stood looking up at the towering warp core, watching the glowing stream of drive plasma emerging from the injectors, flowing up the core and out into the warp nacelles. The injector timing still seemed a little off.

  Despite the distraction of the Changeling threat and the increased security, La Forge had continued to work on improving warp engine performance inside the nebula. He wasn’t going to let the Changeling prevent him from fulfilling his original mission of enhancing the Enterprise’s combat performance.

  He turned away from the core and was surprised to see Data standing at the master engineering console, accompanied by Lieutenant Huff from security.

  “Data! What brings you down here?”

  Data looked up at him. “Geordi. I am glad you are here. I am attempting to develop an algorithm to anticipate the Changeling’s movements through the ship’s service passages, and this requires accurate and detailed schematics. I require your command override code to access the shakedown logs.”

  La Forge suddenly felt awkward. Data was one of his closest friends, but there were security protocols in place, and the shakedown logs had been identified as a priority target for the Changeling. Still, he felt funny questioning Data. Now, with his emotion chip installed, Data could be insulted, or have his feelings hurt the same as anyone else. More easily, actually, since the emotions were so new and powerful to him.

  Before saying anything, La Forge scanned Data with his VISOR. Everything looked right. He could see the glow of Data’s power supply, the flow of positrons through his matrix. Yet Starfleet Intelligence assured them that a Changeling could fool a tricorder, and so it could probably fool his VISOR as well.

  “I’d love to, Data, but there’s a little problem. The captain left standing orders for me to require a blood screening before allowing anyone access to the shakedown logs, and you—uh—”

  “Yes, Geordi?”

  “You don’t have any blood, Data.”

  “Sir,” Huff said, “I’ve been with Lieutenant Commander Data since he left his quarters this morning.”

  La Forge nodded at her. “Thank you, Althea, but I still have my orders, assuming I can figure out how to implement them.”

  Data tilted his head the way he did when he had an idea. “While I do not have blood, I do have lubricants and coolants, though those are generic fluids and a poor substitute for this purpose. I had, however, anticipated this problem, and I have a simpler and more definite solution to offer.” He reached up and pressed his fingers against the side of his head. There was a click and a soft hiss, and a section of his scalp slid smoothly outward. Data snapped the panel free and set it on the table.

  They watched it for several moments. If Data were a Changeling, the separated part should have reverted to gelatinous form, but it did not.

  Data looked at him. “If that is satisfactory?”

  It should have been, but something was bothering La Forge, though he couldn’t for the life of him figure out what it was. Still, Data had passed the test, and La Forge’s scans. You’re just being paranoid.

  “That’s fine, Data.”

  He punched his override code into the console. In response, the master shakedown logs appeared on the tabletop display.

  “Thank you, Geordi. This may take some time. I do not wish to keep you from your work.”

  “Sure.” He turned and started to walk back to the warp core, then hesitated. Everything looked right about Data, but he suddenly realized that not everything sounded right. As the access panel had snapped back into place on Data’s head, the little click just hadn’t been right. It was the sort of thing only an engineer would have noticed, but fortunately, La Forge was a very good engineer.

  “Data,” he said, glancing back over his shoulder.

  Data looked up curiously. “Yes, Geordi?”

  “Why did the chicken cross the wormhole?”

  He tilted his head. “Excuse me, Geordi? I do not understand.”

  “It’s a joke, Data. Why did the chicken cross the wormhole?”

  “I do not know.”

  “To get to the other side.”

  Data looked puzzled, but otherwise did not react.

  “I am afraid I do not understand, Geordi.”

  Geordi tensed, turned, and backed away several steps. This seemed like Data in almost every way, but a Data drawn from files and records, drawn by somebody or something that might have missed the information about Data’s recently installed emotion chip.

  It suddenly occurred to him that he’d made the mistake of thinking of Data as a human being, and that there was yet another way to verify that he was not a Changeling.

  He addressed the security escort. “Lieutenant, do a phaser sweep of Commander Data.”

  Hearing the tension in La Forge’s voice, several other security officers moved toward them to investigate.

  “Excuse me, sir?” Huff looked confused.

  “He’s an android. It won’t hurt him. It wouldn’t hurt the real Data anyway.”

  Data looked up at him and slowly smiled. “Oh, Geordi.”

  Geordi realized the fake Data was reaching under the console for something. “Phaser! Now!”

  Huff raised her rifle and fired, but the Changeling was too fast. It shifted to liquid form, shot up like a fountain, arched over onto a catwalk above them, then transformed into a ball and shot away almost faster than La Forge could follow.

  While one of the security officers remained with La Forge, Huff and another one gave chase, but La Forge knew it was probably hopeless. Instead he bent to inspect the underside of the console where the Changeling had done—something. He found an open access panel exposing a rack of isolinear chips.

  One was missing.

  He tapped his combadge. “La Forge to Captain. The Changeling was just in engineering disguised as Data, and I’m afraid I gave it access to the shakedown logs. It was only for a few moments before I figured it out, but there’s an isolinear chip missing from the engineering console, and I believe it encoded the log data onto the chip.”

  “Very well, Mr. La Forge. At least carrying the chip may limit its mobility.”

  La Forge’s foot bumped against something on the floor. He reached down and gingerly picked up Data’s head access panel. Again he tapped his combadge. “Security, send a team to Mr. Data’s quarters. I believe he may have been attacked by the Changeling. I’ll meet you there.”

  He grabbed a tool kit just as Huff returned, a distressed look on her face.

  “I’m sorry, sir. He got into a Jefferies tube and was gone. I swear, I’ve been with him every moment since he left his quarters. I didn’t—”

  La Forge held up his hand to cut the woman off. “He fooled me too, Lieutenant. Let’s go find the real Data.”

  Picard arrived at Data’s quarters to find Data, or at least his torso and head, propped up on the floor. The panel was missing from the side of his head, and flashing and flickering circuitry could be seen inside, but Data was at least operational.

  La Forge bent over him, working diligently to reattach his right arm.

  Data looked up sheepishly. “It only hurts when I laugh, Captain.” Then he laughed nervously at his own joke. He hesitated a moment before saying, “Ow.”

  Looking up, La Forge said, “We found him partially disassembled, parts stuffed under his computer console and in various hiding places around the cabin. The Changeling took his head access panel, and used it to help fool me
into believing he was the real Data.” La Forge looked down at him. “How did he disable you, Data?”

  Data frowned. “I am embarrassed to report. I was…playing with my emotion chip.”

  La Forge shook his head. “What?”

  “I was moving it. Manually. The chip is fused into my circuitry, but it wiggles. This is both disturbing and fascinating.”

  Looking up at the captain, La Forge chuckled. “It must be like having a loose tooth. Listen, Data. We can’t remove the chip, but I can lock it down a little better for you.”

  “That would be appreciated, Geordi.” Data continued. “In any case, the access panel was open, and I was preoccupied. The Changeling appeared from under my computer console in liquid form and actually entered my body through the open panel. Once inside, it was able to disable my main power relay, but before I stopped functioning, I could feel it. The sensation was—” Data actually shuddered.

  “Data,” Picard said, “before you were disabled, were you able to complete the special project I assigned you?”

  “Yes, sir. I have created a false shakedown log, convincing in every detail, and yet inaccurate enough to be essentially useless for strategic purposes. It can be accessed through my console, file name ‘booby prize.’” He tilted his head. “Funny, no?”

  Picard didn’t have time to be amused. “Geordi, I’ll need this file transferred to an isolinear chip identical to the one the Changeling took.”

  La Forge frowned in puzzlement. “But, Captain, he already has the logs.”

  “Just do it.”

  The engineer stood and stepped over to Data’s console, opening a panel to expose the chips inside. It took him only a moment to transfer the file.

  Just as La Forge finished, his combadge chirped. “Commander La Forge, this is Ensign Jarka. We’ve got more problems down in engineering. The Changeling must have gotten to the shield power relays before leaving here. They’ve been splattered with some kind of acid, and we’re losing shield power. We’re already down four percent, and it’s just going to get worse.”

  La Forge slammed his fist against the side of the console. “Captain, there’s no way we can replace those relays without dropping shields, and with the star becoming more active, the only way we can do that is to move away and out of the nebula.”

  “Now that it has its prize, the Changeling is attempting to force us to leave the nebula.”

  “Doing a good job of it too, sir. At this rate, we’re going to lose shields in an hour or so no matter what we do.”

  “Finish repairing Data. Data, when you’re functional, get to engineering and do what you can to keep those shields functioning as long as possible. Geordi, bring the chip and wait for me in transporter room three as soon as you’re able.” He headed for the door.

  “Wait, Captain! Where are you going?”

  “To bait a Changeling trap.”

  CHAPTER

  11

  Hawk and Ensign Shreff arrived at the designated corridor junction, located just to starboard of main engineering, to find Riker and a security team waiting. Moments later, Picard and his security escort arrived as well.

  Picard looked at Riker. “Will, I said that the only tangible thing about the Changeling was its character. It’s revealed some of that to us now, and very shortly, we will know more.”

  “It seems,” said Hawk, “that we know everything we need to know. Let’s take this thing.”

  “Patience, Mr. Hawk. Patience and restraint. We know now that it is a spy still loyal to the Dominion and its mission. What we do not know with certainty is if it is a killer.”

  “It attacked Commander Data.”

  “Who is not dead, and may have been chosen as a target for that very reason. But it is the very possibility that it is a killer that is the greatest reason we must practice restraint. Shoot to kill only on my authority.”

  “Captain!”

  “You have your orders.” He turned back to Riker. “Will, get to the bridge and monitor both the shield situation and stellar activity. The shields will protect us for a time against regular background radiation, but we are increasingly vulnerable to flares and coherent microwave bursts. Take whatever action you must, dodge flares if you must, but keep us within the nebula until you hear otherwise from me.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Mr. Hawk, you and your people have your orders.”

  “Aye sir, but I’m not happy about it.”

  “Objection noted. No one asked you to be happy, Lieutenant.” Picard’s voice was sharp. “I expect you to do your job.”

  The rebuke stung, but Hawk knew he had been out of line. As acting security chief, he was expected to offer his opinion, but in the end, the responsibility belonged to the captain.

  Picard tapped his combadge. “Computer, patch me into shipwide intercom. Changeling, this is Captain Picard. We are aware of your sabotage to our ship’s shields, and your purpose is clear. But we are not leaving the nebula. If you wish to escape this nebula alive, you will meet me in the engineering hull immediately.” He gave the designation of the corridor junction. “Picard out. Mr. Hawk, you and your people pull back. Monitor this corridor using visual sensors to ensure that the Changeling does not attempt to impersonate me, but otherwise, keep your distance.”

  Hawk nodded reluctantly. The thing has shown its true nature. Why can’t we just take it out?

  Picard waited alone and unarmed at the junction. He felt defenseless and exposed, and though he knew the Changeling would probably not come that way, he kept scanning the corridors in all directions.

  At last, he caught a flicker of movement above him just in the corner of his eye. The Changeling flowed down as a narrow stream to form a blob on the floor in front of him, then rose to take on the shape of Beverly Crusher. “Picard, do you want to die? Your shields are failing. Take this ship away from the nebula.”

  Picard only laughed. “This ship will go nowhere unless I order it, and I will do no such thing until you return to me what you’ve taken. I can’t allow you to leave the Enterprise with those logs. And though we’re alone here, we’re being closely watched, in case you have any ideas of attempting to replace me.”

  “You’re mad, Picard. Put aside your pride and admit defeat.”

  “We humans have a game of bluff called ‘who blinks first.’ I believe you will blink first. You Changelings, with your long lives and your vast powers, you simply have too much to lose. It’s conceivable you might be willing to lay down your life for your Dominion, or for your Great Link, but it would have to be for something vastly more valuable than this trinket of information.”

  “That might be so, Picard, if I really believed you would destroy your ship, if I really doubted my ability to find another way to survive.”

  “Then I offer a compromise. We will leave this nebula, but not until you tell me how you’ve sabotaged my ship.”

  The Changeling smiled with Beverly’s face, and Picard hid his revulsion. “Really, Picard. Why would I destroy this ship? You know how I feel about it.”

  “You admire its form, not the ship itself. You’ve experienced that, and now you can move on without regret. You can even re-create it at your leisure. But the thing itself has no value to you once we leave the nebula. As a threat to your Dominion, with or without the shakedown logs, I believe you will not hesitate to destroy it.”

  “Leave the nebula, Picard, or we all die.”

  “Or you die, you mean. I will die anyway, unless you tell me what you’ve done to my ship. I have nothing at all to lose by remaining here and taking you with me.”

  “Picard—”

  “Decide!”

  The Changling stared at him for long moments. “You’ve finally learned to think like a Changeling, Picard, much to my displeasure. There is a cloaked control device behind the main EPS conduit where it feeds the containment grid for your antimatter storage. It will shut down magnetic containment in a little less than an hour. I expected you to be well outside
the nebula by then. You would have been, if you were sane.”

  “How do we disable it?”

  “Touching it will disable the cloaking device momentarily. There’s a numeric code to be entered on the control pad. Three-three-eight-seven-one-seven-one-oh-four-five.”

  Picard touched his combadge. “Geordi, were your people monitoring that?”

  “Yes, sir. I have people up there searching already.” There was a pause. “Captain, they’ve found it. The cloak was disabled just as described. They’re entering the code now.”

  Picard looked at the Changeling. “If this is a trick—”

  “Then we’ll all go together when we go, Picard.”

  “Captain.” It was La Forge. “The device shut down and disengaged itself from the control circuitry.”

  “Beam it into space immediately, just in case there’s a fail-safe.”

  “I’d love to have a look at that mini-cloaking device, but yes, sir. Done.”

  “Very good, Mr. La Forge. Hawk, close the trap.”

  Running footsteps closed in on them from every direction. The false-Beverly glared at him. “You tricked me, Picard!”

  It lashed at him, and encountered a force field. It growled, then dived toward the wall, flowing into a crack until the isolinear chip became visible through the last bit of amber liquid.

  Unable to take the chip through the crack, it flowed back out, assumed the form of Linda Addision, and, glaring at him, pulled away a Jefferies tube access panel and dived inside just as armed security officers closed in from every adjoining corridor. Several of them climbed into the Jefferies tube. The others moved out along parallel corridors, doing phaser sweeps as they advanced.

  One of the officers remained behind to guard Picard, and handed him a phaser rifle.

  Picard took the weapon and tapped his combadge. “Mr. Hawk, the Changeling is in Jefferies tube three-seven-eight delta.” Picard didn’t wait for an answer before he started running in the direction of the transporter room.

  “We’ve got visual on it, Captain. Looks like it’s changed into some kind of Klingon racing targ, which is appropriate, since we’re herding it with security teams and force fields. This close to the curve of the engineering hull, there aren’t that many places for it to go without reverting to completely liquid form and leaving the chip behind. It’s headed right for the starboard pylon, as we planned.”