95 A Time to Harvest by Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore

Author:Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore [Ward, Dayton & Dilmore, Kevin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: General, Fiction, Science fiction; American, Science Fiction, Space Opera, Adventure, Space ships, Star Trek fiction, Picard; Jean Luc (Fictitious character), Interplanetary voyages
ISBN: 9780743482981
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Published: 2004-04-23T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

"SOMEONE IS COMING."

Dozing fitfully in his cot, La Forge opened his eyes at the sound of Taurik's voice. According to the Vulcan, it had been nearly two hours since their conversation with Barmiol. What did they want now?

"How many this time?" the engineer asked as he rose to a sitting position.

Listening to sounds La Forge could not yet hear, Taurik replied, "Only one, though he may not even be coming here."

"But if he is, this might be our chance," La Forge said, the first kernels of a plan already forming in his mind. "If we can get the drop on him, can you get us back to the landing bay?"

Upon arriving at this mining colony, the pair of skiffs they had traveled in had made use of a single large compartment constructed on the massive asteroid's surface that already housed two other skiffs. The two engineers had then been marched through the colony's passageways for several minutes before ending up here, and La Forge was sure he would not be able to remember the proper route back to what might be their sole chance at escape.

"I believe so, Commander," Taurik replied. "As for disabling the guard, I do have a suggestion. One of us could feign illness or injury when the guard enters the room. Perhaps the simulated crisis will distract him long enough for the other to overpower him."

La Forge almost groaned audibly at the idea. "Taurik, that's got to be the oldest trick in the book."

Rising to a sitting position on his cot, the Vulcan said, "If you are saying that it is a time-tested tactic, Commander, I would have to agree. In fact, while studying the mission logs of Captain James Kirk at Starfleet Academy, I found that he employed the strategy a number of times. While it was not always successful, he did use it to great effect on

"

"We don't have time to discuss this," La Forge snapped, cutting off his companion. He could now clearly hear the guard's footsteps as he drew closer to their cell. "Besides, I can't believe these guys would fall for something like that."

"Perhaps," the Vulcan countered. "Then again, if they are aware of the tactic, then they may well expect us to anticipate that and discard it as a potential course of action. In that case, they would be unprepared for us to actually employ

"

"Taurik!" La Forge hissed as he heard the lock on the door being disengaged. In a quiet voice he added, "Just follow my lead, okay?"

There was no time for the junior engineer to answer before the door opened to reveal a Dokaalan security officer carrying a tray. At least, the figure appeared to be Dokaalan. La Forge was still trying to picture what the guard might look like in his real form, if he was in fact employing some kind of disguise or shapechanging ability.

Both La Forge and Taurik remained seated on their cots and the guard stayed in the doorway as he knelt down to place the tray on the deck.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.