Gemworld 01: Book One by John Vornholt

Author:John Vornholt
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Science-Fiction:Star Trek
ISBN: 9780671042707
Publisher: Pocket Books
Published: 2000-02-01T10:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

THE DOOR TO SICKBAY WHOOSHED open, and Captain Picard strode briskly into the receiving room, where he nearly ran into Commander Riker, who was pacing with his head down. The first officer gave him a stricken look, then he composed himself and straightened to attention.

“Deanna is still with the doctor,” he said, “and they won’t let me see her.”

“What happened?” grumbled the captain. He had been awakened from a deep sleep by the news that Commander Troi was in sickbay … being held in restraints.

Riker heaved his broad shoulders in bewilderment. “She was found wandering the corridor in her nightclothes, screaming.”

“Any idea what brought this on?” asked the captain.

“I haven’t been able to talk to anyone,” answered Riker with frustration. “They’re all busy. When I last saw Deanna, she was headed to bed, like the doctor ordered.”

The captain strode over to a broad window which offered a view of a trauma center with several beds, all of them occupied. None were occupied by Deanna Troi, however. Beyond this open area, there were doorways leading to private examination rooms and operating rooms. He saw medical personnel moving among the patients, and he wanted to bang on the window to demand their attention. But the captain refrained, knowing that he wasn’t the master of this place. One of the workers finally noticed him, and she pressed a comm panel on the bulkhead and spoke to someone.

From one of the examination rooms, Dr. Beverly Crusher emerged, brushing back a strand of copper-colored hair. She looked harried and haggard, as if she hadn’t followed her own advice to get some sleep. Perhaps Beverly had been woken from a peaceful slumber, too, thought Picard. When there was an emergency on the Enterprise, sleep was the first thing to suffer.

As she approached them, she managed the wisp of a smile. “Hello, Jean-Luc, Will.”

“How is she?” asked Riker with concern.

“Sedated. You can see her, but she’s just sleeping.” Crusher grimaced in frustration. “I tried to keep her awake—to ask her questions and find out what happened, but she wasn’t responsive.”

“Did she say anything at all?” asked Picard.

“Quite a bit, but none of it made any sense.”

“Like what?”

Crusher looked pained as she replied, “Like something was trying to get her. Like there was a rip in the bulkhead in her quarters. She said something about ‘it’ being in her mind, but I don’t know what ‘it’ is. I can tell you, there’s no medical cause for her condition. With her symptoms, I would normally call in the ship’s counselor, but she is the ship’s counselor.”

“What will she be like when she wakes up?” asked Riker.

The doctor shrugged wearily. “I honestly don’t know. Maybe she’ll be fine, or maybe she’ll be like she was when they found her—screaming and incoherent.”

“Do you know what she was doing?” asked Picard.

“From her dress, I’d say she was in bed. They found her in the corridor outside her quarters, and I guess her quarters were also in disarray.”

“We can find out from the computer if there were any intruders in her quarters,” said Picard, starting for the door.

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