Star Trek: The Next Generation - 095 - A Time to Harvest by Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore

Author:Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore [Ward, Dayton & Dilmore, Kevin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, General, Science Fiction, Space Opera, Adventure, Interplanetary Voyages, Star Trek Fiction, Science Fiction; American, Picard; Jean Luc (Fictitious Character), Space Ships
ISBN: 9780743482981
Publisher: Star Trek
Published: 2004-01-02T08:00:00+00:00

Mhuic flexed the fingers of his hand and pressed a thumb into his palm, working to relieve the small cramp he had earned while strangling the human woman who now lay in a lifeless heap at his feet. He had anticipated a struggle, but the slight woman had been so shocked that she had been unable to put up any resistance.

He had been studying her from the moment he had been brought aboard the Starfleet vessel, concealed among the injured Dokaalan rescued from the destroyed mining outpost. During his observations, he had determined that her position among the crew was that of a nondescript, menial subordinate, not part of the vessel’s leadership caste. Her role was common and yet trusted enough that she could move about the ship freely, but her duties required that she not be anywhere or answerable to anyone of importance for long periods of time. She was a perfect choice for impersonation.

Until the human male had arrived, of course.

Mhuic’s head turned at the approach of the other operative who had ended up here as one of the Dokaalan patients but whose form now appeared as that of the human woman. He nodded in greeting.

“It is Alida,” his counterpart offered, smiling as she moved to lift the lifeless body of the woman. “Help me,” she said, and together they easily moved the dead human to an area of the cargo bay secluded by a grouping of large cargo containers.

“I did not know you were still here,” Mhuic said as he knelt beside the human’s body and removed the communicator badge from her uniform tunic.

“I took the chance that the Starfleet people would not notice one more dead Dokaalan,” Alida replied. “It was my original intention to take the form of one of their doctors, but that seemed too great a risk.”

Mhuic nodded in agreement. “I had planned to assume this human’s form but then the human male arrived and opportunity presented itself.”

“Fair enough,” Alida said, her voice sounding digitized and warbled as her shroud’s sonic emitters adjusted the acoustical qualities of her own voice to match the timbre of the human woman’s. After a moment she nodded in satisfaction that her transformation was fully in place.

“Do not forget this,” Mhuic said as he offered the confiscated combadge.

“Of course,” Alida replied, accepting the device and placing it on her own chest. Mhuic watched as her shroud rippled momentarily as it adapted its appearance to the new addition, which he knew carried components imbued with important identification information. To the naked eye, Alida appeared to be Crewman Lomax, but with the communicator and its direct ties to the ship’s computer, her impersonation was complete.

“We need to dispose of this,” she said after a moment, nodding toward the body before them, “and the other one.”

Mhuic replied, “They can be concealed here for a time.” Indicating the storage containers that held the portable diagnostic beds, he added, “Unless another medical emergency is declared, this area should remain unused for several hours at least.

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