Star Trek: Starfleet Academy - The Next Generation - 07 - Secret of the Lizard People by Michael Jan Friedman

Author:Michael Jan Friedman [Friedman, Michael Jan]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Science Fiction, Juvenile Fiction, Fantasy & Magic, Horror & Ghost Stories
ISBN: 9780671501099
Google: POblqdbQ9dcC
Amazon: 0671501097
Barnesnoble: 0671501097
Publisher: Aladdin
Published: 1995-02-15T08:00:00+00:00

“What do you think this is?” asked Petros, turning as she looked around. “Some sort of botanical garden?”

Data would have answered in the affirmative, but he didn’t want to take a chance on being wrong. Majors already had seen him at his most useless; he didn’t want to expose any more of his flaws by supporting the wrong conclusion.

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” said Dr. Steinberg with a confidence the android wished he felt as well. “After all, many of our stations have gardens. Why not this one?”

Majors wiped away some of the moisture that had gathered on his faceplate and brushed it on the shoulder of his containment garb. “Glad I’m wearing a suit,” he remarked offhandedly. “You could do the backstroke in this soup.”

The android tried to picture such an activity, but he couldn’t. Apparently, Majors’s remark wasn’t meant to be taken literally.

“No sign of the occupants,” Majors went on, taking the immediate vicinity in with a glance. “But according to our instruments, they’re here somewhere.”

“What’s that?” asked Sinna. A few steps ahead of the group, she pointed to something that the rest of them couldn’t see.

Approaching his friend, Data followed her gesture to a short, squat tree with feathery, yellow filaments growing out of it and saw part of a boot sticking out from behind its trunk.

“There’s somebody down this way,” barked the Yanna for the benefit of the others. She knelt as she got closer to her objective.

The android, who was right behind her, saw that the unconscious, humanoid form was representative of a race he had never seen before—one with pale yellow skin and large oval eyes. The alien’s eyes were closed now, his face in repose.

As the rest of the team gathered around Sinna’s find, Dr. Steinberg ran her medical tricorder over him. Her brow wrinkling, she considered the results.

“Radiation fever?” suggested Majors. “Or maybe an attack by one of the lizard creatures?”

The doctor grunted. “Certainly not an attack. There are no wounds, no broken bones, not even so much as a bruise. But it’s not radiation fever, either.”

Another possibility occurred to Data. “Is it possible that this is a natural response to dangerous environmental conditions?” He blurted it out before he had a chance to think twice.

Dr. Steinberg looked up at him. For a long, uncomfortable moment, the android was certain that she would dismiss his idea as ridiculous.

“Actually,” she said, “that’s just what I was thinking. Some species withdraw into an apparently comatose state as a way of protecting themselves. I’ve got a feeling that this is one of them.”

Sinna scanned the place. “There were supposed to be others here. And if they’re all in this condition … with those lizards running loose…”

“They are fortunate they were not set upon and killed,” Data noted, completing her statement.

It was only afterward that he realized he need not have done so. Sinna’s sentence fragment was sufficient to convey her meaning.

“Fan out,” instructed the doctor. “See if you can find the rest of them.”

Even before she finished, Data was on the move.

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.