Star Crossed Blog Only Teaser

“I think this is a trap,” he replied, his eyes darting around the narrow and cluttered hallway. “Why would they commit suicide and allow us to board their vessel? It does not make sense, unless it’s to lure us into a false sense of security and destroy us…”

I nodded, agreeing with his statement. “Let’s proceed with caution,” I whispered.

“Agreed,” Data said as we found Emmett and Victoria, along with Data’s tactical officer, Commander Felix Volturi. “Report.”

“From what we could gather,” Emmett began, “it’s heavily shielded. It does not look like it’s Alphan technology, though. I can’t identify it. Neither can Commander Volturi or Commander Braxas.”

“Have you attempted to disable the shields?” Data asked.

“I advised against it, sir. This technology is experimental for the Alphans and based on the amount of dead bodies on this ship, this may be a booby trap,” Commander Volturi explained. “I’m afraid that if we attempt to disengage the shields, we’ll cause the auto destruct to begin we’re all stuck here, joining the Alphans in their final resting place.”

“I could try and disable the shields around the cloaking device,” Data said. “I’ve tapped into their computer systems. The shields for the cloak are heavily encrypted but not indecipherable.”

“Let’s get everyone off this ship. Only you and me, Captain,” I said. “We could work together and get this shield down faster.”

“Sir, no,” Victoria said, her brows furrowing. “You’re no longer just a Galaxy Fleet captain, you’re also a husband and the Emperor of Forx. You should go back. I’ll stay with Captain Data.”

“Agreed,” Data said, looking at me. He tapped his communicator. “All crew members aboard the Alphan vessel, please transport back to your respective ships and raise shields.”

“This doesn’t feel right,” I growled, my frustration mounting.

“Go, Edward,” Data said quietly, putting his hand on my shoulder. “Your commander is correct.”

“I want to know,” I said. “Yes, I’m being stubborn. We will maintain an open comm link to the Volvo and beam out at the first sign of trouble.”

“The first sign may be the last sign,” Data countered. I gave him a stern look and he sighed. 

“Commander Volturi and Lieutenant Morgainne, please go back to your ships.” They contacted the Intrepid and Volvo, respectively and beamed out of the cloaking room. Data walked to the computer access panel. He tapped a few controls. The screen lit up. He began working quickly, his fingers flying over the screen. Victoria had asked the Volvo to move to a safe distance, but remove shields in case we needed to do an emergency beam out. I logged every moment with my tricorder and downloaded the specifications for the shields and cloaking device.

Data worked on the computer terminal for five minutes, the shield not dropping. However, he keyed a sequence of codes and the room filled with a thick fog. Victoria and I began coughing, our lungs burning. I could barely understand what Data was screaming at me as my vision clouded and I wavered on my feet. Stumbling, my cheek came in contact with the wall before I fell onto the floor. My eyes drifted shut as I felt the tingle of the transporter in my body.