Part 18 (1/2)

”I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean to endanger anyone.” The calm, heroic Baldwin was entirely gone. Every part of him shuddered. He was agitated, nearly frenzied.

Trying not to feel guilty about prodding Baldwin into this fit, Picard watched him closely. Baldwin's excitement was building to hysteria. Hoping for the best, Picard touched his insignia and said, ”Counselor Troi to the captain's ready room.”

”We have your s.h.i.+p now, Captain Crusher,” a Boogeyman voice said.

”I just wanted to disappear.” Baldwin clutched his face and cried.

”Eric, I ...” Picard began, wondering what Troi would do if she were there.

Baldwin bolted from the room through the open door. Picard ran after him and almost caught him as he stepped into the forward turbolift. The door closed, nearly chopping Picard's hands off at the wrists. He called, ”Mr. Worf, security alert. Professor Baldwin is to be considered dangerous, most of all to himself.”

”Aye, Captain.” A few seconds later he said, ”No response on any comlink channels.”

”We'll have to catch him ourselves. Worf, Number One, Ensign Perry, come with me. Ensign Winston-Smyth, you have the bridge.”

Winston-Smyth looked horrified, but said, ”Aye, sir,” and hurriedly turned to her Ops board.

The doors of the forward turbolift would not open and neither would the aft. Worf offered to pry the doors apart with his bare hands, but Picard was not sure even Worf would be able to perform such a feat. All Picard said was, ”What is the good if no turbolift car is there?”

Worf growled but saw the logic of Picard's question.

”The emergency gangway,” Riker said and headed for an emergency door between the battle bridge turbolift and the main viewscreen.

Picard said, ”Number One.”

Riker, obviously in a big hurry, turned to look at Picard.

Gently, Picard said, ”Number One, where are you going?”

”To find Baldwin.” Riker frowned, then smiled ruefully. He said, ”He could be anywhere.” He tapped his insignia and said, ”Computer, where is Professor Baldwin?”

Nothing came from the comlink. Not even Boogeyman laughter.

Worf ran back to his post at the tactical rail and began to punch b.u.t.tons. He growled and then said, ”This is hopeless.” He gripped the rail.

”The computer is down?” Perry said.

”Not down,” said Riker, ”but definitely falling.”

”What about using a tricorder?”

Picard considered that idea along with everyone else. He said, ”A tricorder's range is limited, and Baldwin could be anywhere on the s.h.i.+p. We could be hunting for a long, long time.”

”Perhaps there is a way,” Worf said. ”With the tricorder on external setting, we might be able to use it and Enterprise's sensor net together.”

”Without our tricorder becoming contaminated?” Riker said.

”I believe so. We would not link the tricorder with the s.h.i.+p's computer system. The sensor net would merely be a kind of antenna for the tricorder. The tricorder would do all the actual data processing.”

”Very good, Mr. Worf,” Picard said.

Perry still looked doubtful. ”Where is the nearest tricorder?” she asked.

”Sickbay,” said Riker.

”Right you are, Number One. Lead the way.”

With a grim, wolfish smile, Riker worked the mechanical lock and pushed open the door to the gangway. Emergency light bars were like blue threads that followed.the stairs down. Picard suggested they take flashlights anyway, against the good possibility that the Boogeymen would sense their presence in the stairwell and deprive them of light.

The gangway was an eerie place. The air was cool and dead. No attempt had been made to beautify the place. Cables and conduits lined the walls. The occasional sensing mechanism beeped and flashed. In all his years as captain of the Enterprise, this was only the second time Picard had been on the gangway. The first time, it had been part of his welcoming tour.

The metal stairs rang like gongs with each step they took; their shadows jumped and danced, grew and diminished. It was not difficult for Picard to imagine armies of Boogeymen following them or rising from below to meet them.

When they reached deck twelve, Riker manipulated another lock. As he pushed open the door to the corridor, a portable memo screen floated past. A lieutenant swam after it, looking a little green. Starfleet still demanded that all personnel have a zero-g rating, but the skills required to get the rating were not often needed aboard a stars.h.i.+p. And with the skills went the discipline of the stomach. When the lieutenant saw Picard, he grabbed one of the ornamental pillars that lined the corridor and said, ”We seem to have a gravity leak, sir.”

”Gravity leak?” Riker asked.

”Yes, sir. The gravity gradient is gradually decreasing, as if the gravity were running out.”

Picard said, ”So I see. Very picturesque. Carry on, Lieutenant ...”

”Hiller, sir.”

”Of course. Carry on, Lieutenant Hiller.”

The lieutenant nodded, grimaced, and swam toward sickbay.

Picard stepped out of the stairwell and immediately lost all his weight. His ma.s.s remained the same, of course, but that was of less concern to him than the discomfort rising from his stomach and twirling in his brain. For the moment he was not sorry that the food slots were not functioning properly. ”Come on,” he said, hoping he sounded more encouraging than he felt.

He followed Lieutenant Hiller into sickbay and slowly sank till his feet touched the floor. It was obvious that there was a gravity leak in sickbay, too, but the gravity coils still worked a little, for which he was grateful. Behind him, Riker, Worf, and Perry landed. Worf said, ”A warrior was not meant to be a bird.”

A few children still lolled around sickbay, but they looked considerably more chipper than Picard felt. Dr. Crusher was using a hypospray on Lieutenant Hiller. When she saw Picard and the others, she said, ”Antinausea medicine. Wait right there. The four of you are next.”

Troi approached Picard and said, ”What is going on, sir?”

Worf growled and said, ”Boogeymen.”

”They have the s.h.i.+p?”

”Not yet,” said Riker.

Dr. Crusher hit Picard in the arm with the hypo, and he heard it hiss. Seconds later his stomach settled and his brain stopped chasing itself. The others looked relieved, too. Picard told Dr. Crusher why they had come to sickbay, and she gave them a tricorder. ”With or without the medical attachment?” she asked.

”What is your opinion?” said Picard.

Dr. Crusher shook her head and said, ”The tricorder has no information on s.h.i.+p's crew and pa.s.sengers. You'll have to give it something to look for.”