Finally Here and Doing it Now

Chapter 14

Everyone stared confused as the space shuttle came closer toward the Enterprise. It looked as if small pieces had torn apart from the ship and were following behind it as it moved. It would have been in space for centuries, but it amazed Will that it was not completely torn into pieces.

"Status report, Mr. Data," Will said. He walked closer to the viewscreen, wanting to see this relic and all of its glory.

"It appears to be a spacecraft, possibly from the Earth's early warp adventures. Most of the ship seems to be pulling apart; however, I do believe it will survive transport onto the ship," Data said. He looked back at Will with his golden eyes wide. 

Will looked to Picard, wanting to be assured that he could bring the ship aboard to study it. Picard gave a small nod and Will smiled.

"Lock coordinates and transport it to cargo bay two. I would like to get a closer look," Will commanded.

"Aye, sir. Locking onto the object," Data said. He typed on the board in front of him and they all watched it disappear from the viewscreen.

"Data, you're with me," Will said, "Riker to La Forge."

La Forge here, sir.

"Geordi, meet Data and me in cargo bay two. We have something that I would like you to help us check out," replied Will. He headed toward the turbo lift, Data trailing close behind.

Aye, Commander. I will meet you there.

"Sir?" Data asked as they stepped onto the turbo lift.

The doors closed and Will looked expectantly at Data.

"Why are we looking into what essentially amounts to space junk?" Data asked.

Will smiled and replied, "Well, Data, it may be space junk, but who knows what information it holds. I'm not sure how it got so far out here, but that flimsy piece of metal holds insight to the past and that alone is why we should investigate it to see what stories it has to tell."

Data nodded and remained quiet as the lift made it down to the cargo bay. Geordi was already waiting by the entrance, a look of curiosity over his face.

"What are we looking at, Commander?" Geordi asked. Will punched in a code on the bay doors and showed them the piece of history that awaited their exploration.

                                                                ***

Deanna rubbed her belly as she paced around her quarters. The baby felt restless and so did she. 

"Can we just sleep little one?" Deanna murmured, sitting down on the couch and looking out into the starfield. She wasn't getting much sleep and she asked to have her duties postponed for a while to try and catch up.

Her senses were also heightened, which also frustrated her. She didn't want to feel everything that everyone on the ship was feeling. It was not helping her sleep. She grabbed a Padd, sat down on the couch, and tried to find something to take her mind of the restlessness she was feeling.

Deanna was just nodding off, on the couch, when her door chimed. She internally groaned and sat up.

"Come," Deanna said.

The door swished opened and Beverly came in, looking far too cheery for how Deanna was feeling.

"How are you?" Beverly asked, taking a seat next to Deanna.

Deanna breathed, trying not to get angry with her friend, "I haven't been able to sleep much the past few days. The baby is grumpy and I'm hyper-aware of everything, but otherwise, terrific."

Beverly frowned and walked over to the replicator. Deanna slid down the couch and closed her eyes, not quite hearing what Beverly asked for. 

"Deanna, let's get you to your bed, it's not going to help if you sleep on the couch," Beverly urged, grabbing under Deanna's arm. Deanna begrudgingly got up and noticed that Beverly had clear glass in her other hand. She nearly laughed, wondering how water was going to help her sleep.

Deanna let Beverly guide her to her bed and tuck a blanket over her legs. "No offense, Beverly, but I don't understand how water is going to help me sleep," Deanna said, as the glass was offered to her.

Beverly gave a devious smile, "It's not water, but a Howard family secret. Mostly used to help soothe mothers during pregnancy. Make sure to drink it all, I promise you won't regret it."

Deanna stared in the glass suspiciously but decided to trust her friend. She took a big gulp and the taste was very light, a mixture of some citrus and some floral concoction. Deanna liked it and almost instantly her body began relaxing. She drank the rest of the glass and set it on her bedside table.

Deanna barely mumbled the words, "Thanks, Bev." Before the concoction sent her eyelids shut and she finally fell asleep.

                                                       ***

Will and Geordie scanned around the foreign object, picking up mild radiation and an energy signature they weren't quite sure what to make of.

"What do you think that energy surge is, Commander?" Geordi asked, coming around the front toward Will.

Will stroked his chin, glancing down at his Tricorder, not quite recognizing the signature. It made Will skeptical about opening the unit. He did not want to unleash something that they didn't know, but he also considered the possibility it was just a very old energy source that wasn't registering on their devices. 

"If I'm being honest, Geordi, I'm not sure what it is. I've never seen it before, but it could merely be something very old," Will said.

He took his Tricorder and scanned over the back hatch, again coming up with the odd energy surge. 

"Should we try to open it?" Geordi mused, feeling along the back to see if he could find the opening.

Will looked toward Data who was analyzing something on a Padd. "What do you think Data? Is it safe enough to open?"

"Given the readings I am seeing, I do not believe there is harm from opening it up," Data said.

Will nodded and looked to Geordi, who had found the handle to open the back hatch of the decrepit piece of metal. 

"Okay, go ahead and open it Geordi."

He pulled the handle and the hatch opened with a loud, groaning noise. Before any of them could react, a green streak of light came flying out of the small shuttle and knocked into everyone in the cargo bay instantly knocking them unconscious.