Part 21 (1/2)
Baldwin pleaded with Picard. ”You must send a message. Any message. It will contain the virus. I can start to disappear.”
”Not while the Boogeymen are still active.”
Baldwin tried to speak, but Picard continued. ”And even if the Boogeymen were not a problem, I would not allow your name to be deleted from Federation records. You are a part of Federation history, and neither of us has the authority to change that.” He shook his head. ”I'm not certain that anybody does.”
”Fame is a poor subst.i.tute for a good night's sleep.”
The room was silent but d.a.m.ned hot. Only Worf seemed to be entirely at ease. Worf and Pilgrim. If it got much hotter, some of the more delicate machinery would begin to break down. If it got much hotter, they would parboil in their uniforms.
”Eric,” Picard said finally. ”You must tell us how you modified the d'Ort'd code. It's the only way we'll be able to untangle them from the Boogeymen.”
Baldwin threw his hands up in despair. ”Jean-Luc, it took me three weeks to figure out what to change and how to do it. I think it would take me at least that long to delete what I did.” His gaze met Picard's. ”I'm sorry.”
Picard sighed heavily.
”Right back where we started,” said Riker.
Picard laid a hand on Baldwin's shoulder, then turned to Worf, and said, ”Can you set that tricorder to look for Data? Perhaps he and Mr. La Forge will have some ideas.”
”Yes, sir.” Worf took the tricorder back from Riker and glared at it as he pushed b.u.t.tons.
Picard stood up. ”Well, then, gentlemen, I suggest-”
”Captain,” Worf interrupted. ”Data is moving toward us along the gangway in the secondary hull.”
Riker said, ”If they'd found a solution they wouldn't be coming just to tell us about it. They'd have implemented it by now.”
”Indeed. They must have something else in mind. Mr. Perry, as ranking command officer, it is your responsibility to look out for Professor Baldwin's safety.”
Perry nodded. ”Yes, sir. I a.s.sume that Dr. Crusher and Counselor Troi will be staying here with us?”
”Unless they have business elsewhere,” Picard said.
Dr. Crusher said, ”With the comlink down, house calls seem unlikely.”
”I suspect,” Troi said carefully, ”that the need is greatest here.”
”Very well. Number One? Mr. Worf?”
They marched to the corridor, where the air seemed hotter than it had been-more like soup than stuff to breathe. Picard crossed the corridor and went into the stairwell, where the air was considerably cooler. But he suddenly felt heavier.
”Gravity is up,” Worf said.
”Warrior's gravity,” Riker said. To which Worf only growled.
”Lead on, Mr. Worf.”
Worf nodded and descended, sweeping his tricorder before him.
”There's the hatch to deck seventeen,” La Forge said and sat down heavily at the top of the flight of stairs.
Wesley sank next to him, and said, ”I feel like I've put on a lot of weight since we started.” At first the exercise had been invigorating, but after the first few flights, Wesley got bored. He did cube roots in his head to keep awake.
”Gravity is our friend, Wes. We're just tired.”
”You may be tired, Geordi, but Wesley's feelings are correct. The gravity gradient is up seven point three percent. Of course, our ma.s.s is still the same.”
La Forge struggled to his feet and opened an access panel on the wall. He touched a control surface and shook his head. ”The Boogeymen have everything all bollixed up.” He slammed the access panel closed and sat down next to Wesley.
Data swept the tricorder around and said, ”The captain is on his way here.”
”Here?” Wesley said.
”In our direction.”
Did the captain know something he wanted to tell them, or did he hope they had something to tell him?
”Where is he?” La Forge said.
”Deck thirteen and traveling.”
La Forge stood up, blinked, and shook his head. ”It's not fair to feel this heavy without having eaten something wonderful first.”
Wesley stood up more carefully than La Forge had and said, ”Gravity is our friend, Geordi.”
La Forge gave Wesley a dirty look and began climbing. He said, ”If we keep moving we ought to meet him around deck fifteen.” He took a step, and his foot was still in the air when the stairwell tilted, throwing all of them into the hatch to deck seventeen. They lay in a heap in a trough made by the hatch and the landing before it; the staircase they'd just ascended now looked like a corrugated floor.
As they sought to untangle themselves, Wesley heard a roar. ”What's that?” He had to shout to be heard.
”Air recyclers,” said Data.
Wesley and La Forge began to gasp.
”Can't ...” La Forge said and then collapsed.
Red blotches appeared before Wesley's eyes, and a pounding in his ears blotted out the hurricane whoosh of the air recyclers. The last thing he remembered before he pa.s.sed out was Data shaking him by the shoulders and asking him if he was all right.
Chapter Fifteen.
PICARD AWOKE with an environmental mask over his face. The stuff he was breathing had an odd smell, but Starfleet put the smell into emergency air canisters on purpose, and he knew it would not hurt him.
The last thing he remembered was gasping for breath on the gangway between decks thirteen and fourteen. He had a vague impression that Mr. Worf had carried him to where he now lay. If that was true, he had probably also put the environmental mask on him.
The Boogeymen were becoming stronger. Picard was certain they had it within their power to destroy the Enterprise at this moment, if only they knew how. Wesley had designed them to be crafty and merciless, but evidently they needed time to absorb information from the main computer. Of course, an invulnerable and omnipotent enemy would be no more interesting to fight than one you could defeat without trying. Lucky for them all that the Boogeymen were not perfect.
Deck fourteen was a residential section, and crew members were sprawled all around Picard. Others moved among them, making them more comfortable. They all wore environmental masks, which made them look a little sinister, like Borg insects, perhaps.