Imzadi: My Version
Chapters Seven and Eight
Chapter 7
Will and Mark were having breakfast together as usual when Xerx came in and joined them. Mark stayed and chatted for a bit and then excused himself because he had to rush off to a meeting. Left with Xerx, Will found out he was a Psychology teacher at the University and Deanna was attending one of his classes.
Will asked, "Then maybe you can answer a question for
me."
"Go ahead."
"Have you ever heard of a therapy technique where the
therapist and patient take off all their close and lie next to each other and even.. press up against each other?"
"I'd think that would lead to sex." Xerx said very
amused. "What has that Troi girl done now?" He thought to himself. "Well, I must say Riker seems like a fine young man."
"Well, no. It's done to move past the physical and deal with each other on a purely intellectual manner. But why am I explaining this to you? You teach Psychology."
"Oh, my, that Troi girl has done a real number on this
man." he thought. Trying hard not to laugh he told Will, "Lieutenant, I have been teaching and practicing for a long time. I can assure you, I have never heard of a technique like that except in maybe cases of sexual dysfunction. Was this a case of sexual dysfunction?"
"N-no." Will stammered.
"In that case," said Xerx, "I see little purpose for that sort of contact beyond the obvious gratifications." Then leaning forward toward Will he asked, "Who told you about this?"
"No one." Will said quickly. "I just heard it
around."
"Riker apparently forgets I am Betazoid." Xerx said to himself. "Well, no matter, I have enough information. I'll just have to have a talk with her, but I have to find away to bring it up to her without embarrassing her or her worrying that I may tell her mother or where I heard this."
"Lieutenant, is there something you want to discuss with me?" Xerx asked.
Will thought smiling, "Deanna really pulled a number on me. I knew she had to be up to something. Well, at least she's happy and I'm amused."
Trying to wipe the smile off his face, Will says to Xerx,
"No, I just find the entire thing funny."
"I see." Xerx said and then to himself, "Well, at least the human has a good sense of humour and from what I can tell, he has a lot of feelings for Deanna."
Will's com-badge suddenly beep and he tapped it. "Riker, here."
"Planetary sensors detect an incoming Sindareen ship and they are refusing all attempts at being hailed."
Riker was on his feet. "Planetary defense sys.."
"Too late." said Tang. "These Betazoids are so damn peaceful, they hardly have anything and what they do have is too little, too late. The squad is scrambled and it appears the ship is headed for the heart of the city."
"I'm on my way." said Riker.
Everyone in the cafe' were too worried about the situation to be insult about what Tang said. They feared for their families and their friends. Riker did not need to be an empath to feel the anxiety levels skyrocketing in the cafe'. He felt them loud and clear.
Xerx approached him with tremendous worry in his eyes. "An open area makes them easy targets, but also with the density of our population makes it easy to harm innocents. Don't let your determination to catch them be your first and last mistake."
Riker regarded him for a moment and said, "Understood."
Deanna and Chandra were in the museum. Deanna got a sudden chill.
"Deanna, are you ok?" Chandra asked.
"Yes, it's just.."
"It's that Riker isn't it? The one from the wedding?" Chandra asked her friend.
Deanna nodded with hesitance.
"What about him?" Chandra continued to inquiry.
"I don't know. He's not like any man I ever met."
Deanna said dreamily. "He's just different and Mother can't seem to accept that I like him a lot. He has no ties to our planet or our culture and Mother can't seem to handle that. She's gone as far as treating me even more like a child and has forbid me to ever see him again. Oh, Chandra, I just have to see him, though." Tears came to Deanna's eyes.
"I can see how you would be upset."
Another chill past through Deanna. She was feeling more than just her desire for Will. She wondered why Chandra did not feel it. Surely she did.
"It's just when I'm with him all rational thought just seems leave me." she said. "And all I want is him."
All of a sudden Deanna's face turns ashened. "Deanna, what's wrong?" asked Chandra.
"You don't sense it?" Deanna grabbed her friend's hand. "We have to get out of here!"
Suddenly, Chandra sensed it too. "Oh, Gods!"
Other Betazoids were reacting as well and tried to quickly get out of the museum, but to no avail. As fast as they reacted doors suddenly started to burst inward by phaser blasts. Then a section of a wall was blasted down, falling on top of a man and crushing him. The Betazoids suddenly froze in fear of what the saw. They were surrounded with no where to go. They were trapped like animals with no way of escape by formidable beings.
Chapter 8
Deanna sense terror in her friend. Chandra was afraid she would never see her husband again, but Deanna's main concern was survival. She was not willing to accept the notion that she was going to die here.
The Sindareen prodded and herded the thirty plus Betazoids into a circle in the middle of the room like they were cattle. As they did Deanna was thinking surely they would be rescued, for their ship could not have gone undetected. She knew steps for rescue had been taken and she knew, without any question or doubt, Lieutenant William T. Riker would be leading that rescue.
For some strange reason, that thought gave Deanna a lot of
comfort. She knew everything would work out and they would be rescued and she had these feelings within her for quite a while. Until a Sindareen blaster was shoved into her mouth.
She had no idea why he took such action, but she now felt fear. She knew without a doubt it was because she and Chandra were about to make their way out the exit he blasted through. But was blocking their escape not enough?
She sensed Chandra's fear become even greater at this point and she tried to telepathically comfort her friend. Then realized seeing her with a blaster stuck in her mouth that nothing was going to comfort her friend.
The hugh, burly monster that had the blaster stuck in Deanna's mouth shouted, "Now get back there! All of you and don't try to stop us or someone's going to die. Starting with this woman here!"
Deanna tried hard to continue to breath, but fear was causing her to forget to breath. She knew if she did not remain calm she might not survive this. She fought showing any fear as best she could and she mind sent to her whimpering friend "Do not let them know you are afraid."
Still it did little to help Chandra. Chandra was certain her
friend and many more were going to die. Certain that she would not see her husband again, who she had married not too many weeks back. Certain that she was going to watch her best friend die here and now.
Riker walked up beside Tang and asked, "What do we
have?"
They were about a hundred yards away from the museum and
Betazoids were gathering near, sensing the terror that was going on in the building. They wanted to try and comfort their families and friends who were kept prisoners in the building. But Tang, who the Betazoids were begining to think was a mongrel, order his people to keep the distraught people back.
Tang replied to Riker, "There's the ship they came in." as he pointed toward the top of the building.
Both Tang and Riker decided it would not be a good idea to
destory the ship at this time, because it could leave the
Sindareen desparate enough to harm more people inside. Riker came up with an idea which he thought was brilliant.
"Who's your communications expert?" he asked Tang.
"Hirsch." he replied and tapped his comunicator
"Hirsch get your butt over here."
Riker was thinking, "Tang isn't going to make a very good command officer talking to people like that, but now is not the time to concern myself with Tang's style."
Riker turns to Tang and asks, "How many people are in
there?"
"Not certain, but one of the stronger Betazoids said she sensed about thirty Bbetazoids and nine Sindareen."
Hirsch, a stocky brunette in great shape, ran up to them not even huffing and puffing,and said, "Yes, sir."
Tang pointed to Riker and she faced him.
"I want to talk to the Sindareen." Riker said.
"Odds are they left someone on that ship to communicate with and to be their eyes and ears."
"And you need me to find the frequency so you can talk to them?" she responded.
"Yes and keep in mind they may have scrambled it."
Riker replied.
Her facial statement showed just what she thought of the
Sindareen's communication technology and then she said to Riker, "No disrepect sir, but I thought you were going to give me something hard to do. Their communications system is not much more than a child's walkie talkie in my opinion." Then she dropped down to the ground to pull out her equipment out of her bag and set to work.
Within seconds she said, "Got it, Lieutenant. I just need a few seconds to unscramble it. Apparently they think we can't do it, but this is child's play to me." she smirked.
"Let her go!" yelled the leader of the Sindareen to the man who had the blaster in Deanna's mouth. "Let's not start picking them off until we absolutely need to. We need them as leverage to get out of here, remember?"
The man tossed Deanna aside and she landed on the floor. She was relieve to have that blaster out of her mouth. Chandra tried to scramble over to her, but when she heard the leader shout at the rest of the group she frozed.
"Baytah!" he snapped at his men. It was a deep,
throated growling sound that came out of his mouth next
"Zroah!" What are you standing there for? You two get to the other room and clear it out! You others- Move! We don't have all day!"
As his men scurried to clean out the place the Betazoids started to gasp and protest. The leader turned his blaster toward them and roared, "Shut up! All of you or I'll start shooting every last damn one of you. One by one. Right here and now!"
They quieted and the leader continues in a sacchrine sweet
manner, "My dear Betazoids, I am called Maror. If you would be so kind as to cooperate, we can get this over quickly without to much difficultly to any of you."
Deanna thought his name more appropriately should be moron. Then without any control she said, "But why!"
Chandra tried to pull her back into the group, but it was too late. She had attracted the moron's attention. Somehow, surviving the last incident had embolden her, even with Chandra's warning for her not to even think of more appropritate names for these people.
Maror's gazed at every inch of Deanna in a way that made her
suddenly feel dirty. She tried to ignore the feeling. She could not, however, get an empathic lock on him and her uncontrolled outburst came from that aggravating defeat.
"But why what?" he asked. "Why should you not
interfer with our proceedure?"
Deanna tried to picture her mother who seemed to have never been intimidated by anything or anyone. "Deanna, keep
quiet." Chandra sent to her.
But that did not detour Deanna. She summoned the courage to ask her question and look the formidible enemy straight in the eye as she asked it. "Why are you stealing our art treasures? The surely can't hold any meaning for you? They're peices of art that sprang from the hearts and souls of Betazoid artists?"
He made a sound that she assumed was the equivalence to laughter and said, "Are you under the impression that we are going to sit around and look at these meaningless pictures? Don't be rediculous. What we have is a Ferengi who is an avid art collector and is willing to pay handsomely for one of a kind art. You should be flattered that your work has attracted his attention, for he is very discriminating in the interest of profit."
Then a voice came over the comm informing "There's a large crowd of typical Betazoids gathering and trying to figure out how everyone is feeling and doing nothing about the situation ".
"Yes, that is typical." grunted Maror in disgust of their culture. "Anything else?"
"Yes, Star Fleet appears to be trying to take control of the situation."
"Let them. As long as we have hostages they won't do a
thing. I esti..."
But before he could finish another voice broke in.
"Attention, Sindareen raiders. You are completely surrounded and cannot escape. Surrender is your only alternative."
Deanna's dark eyes widened and her heart leaped with joy at the sound of Will's voice. For the briefest of moments Deanna wanted to cry out to Will and tell him she was there and ask him to help get her out, but she knew that was not wise. For if he knew, it could hinder him from rescuing any of them.
"Who is this!" Maror growled out.
"Lieutenant Riker of Star Fleet." he said. "And who are you?"
"Maror of the Sindareen. So tell me. Where is your ship? We did not see one within light years from here."
"A ship is not necessary to deal with this situation." Riker informed.
Maror made the action again of the equivalent of a chuckle.
"You flatter yourselves, Star Fleet."
"No, I warn you. You are surrounded by a squad of Star Fleet men. Surrender and your cooperation will be noted."
Maror's voice bacame very sarcastic as he said, "Noted. How nice. It would make a lovely tombstone. "Here lies Maror. He cooperated." No, thanks, I'll take my chances and invite you to try and impede our departure. Then you can explain the three dozen corpses to your superiors. Do we understand each other? Now get of my damn comm channel!"
"Very well. We are scrambling your comm channel. You will not be able to communicate with anyone."
"Oh, really?" he said with an evil smirk and pointed his blaster at Chandra and fired it at her.
The blast hit her in the theigh and she went down with a scream of intense pain. Which echoed through out the museum and was heard over the comm. Deanna dropped to the floor beside her friend due to concern for her. She turned to Maror and screamed, "You Bastard!"
Will heard Deanna's voice and alarm of concern and fear for her well being went off within him. Although he knew it was not Deanna who was hit by the blaster, he still feared for her safety.
"Did you hear that?" Maror said with an evil voice. "I could have killed her. Now, here's my warning to you. The next time I fire it will be at someone's heart and I assure you I don't miss. That will be on your head. Now unclutter my comm channel!"
Riker becoming very ill at ease about the situation, returned the channel back over to Maror's people. Maror told his men to maintain radio silence except in an extreme emergency.
Deanna ripped off the sleeve of her dress to bandage Chandra's wound. She could sense her friend's intense pain. The pungent smell of carbon burnt flesh permeated the air. Then Deanna looked up at Maror with distain and discussed. She had the look on her face that spoke "if looks could kill, you would be dead right now."
He turned to the group of Betazoids pointing his blaster at them and said, "You had all better pray to what ever gods you believe in for the success of Star Fleets efforts to rescue you will be measured by how many cropses that they get. Now, let's see. Who's going to be next if we experience anymore problems?"