Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Young Adult Books 09: Cardassian Imps by Mel Gilden

Author:Mel Gilden
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Science Fiction, Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 9780671511166
Publisher: Aladdin
Published: 1997-02-02T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 6

Terrified, Jake put up his hands to protect himself while Nog keened in distress, a noise that made thinking difficult. The Moops crawled all over Jake, touching him, patting him, lightly scratching him. They pulled his hair and plucked at his clothing, but they did not actually hurt him. They seemed more curious than anything else.

Then one of the Moops ripped off his commbadge and flapped into the air with it. Jake cried out and leaped at the Moop, but it always hovered just out of reach. Nog broke off his keening and tried to help, but had no more luck than Jake.

“Give that back,” Jake shouted angrily.

Instead of giving it back, the Moop bit into the commbadge as if to test if it was real. Something inside cracked, and Jake felt a wrenching sickness.

“Now we’re really cut off,” Jake said, then saw that Nog had troubles of his own.

“Hey,” Nog cried as the first Moop grabbed the toy statue and ran to the far corner of the room with it in his hands. While chattering happily to himself, he touched the screen again and again, making more Moops.

The already dim light grew dimmer. The laboring of the air recirculators did little to improve the air quality. The air was also noticeably cooler than normal, and Jake shivered.

Soon the room was filled with Moops, hundreds of them. None of them paid more than passing attention to Jake and Nog.

“Let’s warp,” Jake whispered, his breath making a plume of mist. He and Nog ran out of the store, and back up the corridor to the turbolift. Jake punched the call button, but the light didn’t go on.

Nog set one of his big ears against the closed turbolift door and listened. “I don’t think it’s working,” he said.

The patter of hundreds of feet and the gabble of Moop voices made them look with distress back the way they’d come.

“We can’t stay here,” Nog cried.

“Come on,” Jake said, and ran off, hoping he remembered correctly. He led Nog away from the Moops.

Jake was relieved when he found what he was looking for. He began to undog the hatch cover.

“What is it?” Nog asked.

“Maintenance hatch. Chief O’Brien says they’re on every level.”

“I guess he was right. Hurry! Hurry!”

Jake didn’t have to be prompted. While he fought to make his fingers work correctly on the cold metal, he glanced down the corridor and saw the Moops were already at the turbolift. They would be on them any second.

He got the cover off and dropped it. Secrecy was not necessary. He grabbed the edge of the duct and pulled himself inside. It was full of dust, dead insects, and tiny bits of machined metal. Three of the three-eyed creatures like the one Jake and Nog had saved from the sludge sat to one side staring at him as if with astonishment.

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